The Shadow Alchemist
by chaoticviolin
Summary: The Elric brothers have left Winry for the last time with no word of their well being. When Winry is sought out by people claiming to want to protect and train her and her mysterious power, she accepts. She will no longer be weak. EdxWin
1. Chapter 1:Shadow

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters in it, but I do own "the shadow" and Gray. **

**Authors Note: This idea has been in my head for a while now, and if you guys like it, please let me know and I'll continue it! **

**Chapter One: Shadows **

_ Winry spun around and around on her heel, trying to locate the voice. "Wiiinrrry…." Fear churned in her stomach as she looked behind her and saw nothing but darkness. "Winry. Winry. Winry." It was whispering her name thousands of times in every direction. _

_ She grabbed her head and screamed, "What do you want?" _

_ "Winry." It whispered once more and then..…silence. __She took her hands away from her head and opened her eyes. Peering into the blackness, she could barely make out a silhouette in front of her. _

_ "You're _**ours**."

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"Gah!" Winry gasped, clutching her chest and sitting up in her sweat covered bed. The same thing had been happening every night since she was ten. Now seven years later, the nightmares still come.

Winry shook off the creepy dream and kicked off her sweat covered bed sheets. Stretching as she got up, she stumbled over to window and pushed it open, letting cool air and sunshine into her small room. She smiled and promised herself that the nightmare wouldn't ruin such a beautiful day. Moving to her closet, she pulled out her mechanic clothes and made her way to the shower.

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After a long day of automail repairs by both winey and sweet customers, Pinako and Winry finally had some time to themselves over dinner. They chatted indifferently about things happening in town when the topic of the Elric brothers was brought up and all was silent.

"It's been two years today that they've been gone." Winry said quietly, poking at her now unappetizing food.

Pinako sighed and mentally cursed those boys for causing her granddaughter so much pain-especially Edward. Not so much as a letter has arrived from them in two years and for all they knew, the brothers could be dead.

The only sound in the room was the soft pitter-patter of the thunderstorm outside until Pinako said, "You know Edward. He promised that he would always come back." Nodding, Winry began to rise from her seat at the table when there was a knock at the front door.

Winry's face lit up and ignoring Pinako's protests, she swung the door open. However, instead of seeing two blond haired gold eyed brothers, there was a cloaked figure. They stood covered from the torrential downpour in a floor length cloak with the hood up.

"Winry Rockbell?" A female voice asked. Standing aside, Winry allowed Pinako to come to the door.

"Who's asking?" The old woman asked.

The stranger clucked her tongue and mumbled, "An ally." She remover her hood and allowed the two women to take in her straight fire red hair and light grey eyes for a moment. "My name is Gray and I am here to give Ms. Rockbell some…interesting news. May I come in?"

Pinako didn't look too happy about allowing an almost complete stranger into her house, but she had a feeling that she must hear this. Pinako nodded once and stepped aside to let her through.

Gray walked into the small home and shed her long cloak, revealing torn faded gray jeans, a black V-neck, and black ankle combat boots. Her hair reached her mid-back and was flowing freely around her shoulders.

Winry showed her into the kitchen and sat her in the chair across from herself and her grandmother. "What is this urgent news you speak of?" Pinako questioned.

"Is it about Ed and Al?" Winry practically shouted. "Are they alright?"

"No. I know nothing of Edward and Alphonse Elric at the moment. That's Mustang's job. Not mine." She scoffed and leaned forward. "This is about _you_ Winry."

"What about me?" Winry asked, uncomfortable at the woman's sudden proximity.

Gray leaned back once again and looked out the window. "Have you ever heard of shadow alchemy, Ms. Rockbell?"

Winry shook her head that she did not and the woman smirked.

"Most people haven't. You see, we aren't like normal alchemists- instead of controlling things you find on the planet, we manipulate what surrounds it. Call it what you will- dark matter. Shadows."

To enunciate her point, Gray pointed her fingers to the corner of the room and beckoned the shadow to come closer. Slowly, the wisp of black tendrils crawled into her hand and she began shaping it into a ball.

"No alchemy circle." Winry breathed.

"Ah, so I see you know more than the average human. No, I need no alchemy circle, and I can do anything with this. I can crush buildings, lift tons, and even make weapons." She explained-running her hand over the ball and stretching it out slowly. When she was done, a sword was created and she tapped it on the floor. A small shriek of what sounded like metal reached their ears. "It is as light and durable as metal, yet so much stronger." Gray let the shadow go and it slinked its way back into the night.

"I don't see what this has to do with my granddaughter." Pinako said, wary of this powerful woman. She could not be a day over twenty-two, but she had this type of power.

Gray let her eyes shift from forlornly looking at the shadow retreat back to Winry once again. "Have you been having nightmares lately, Ms. Rockbell? Nightmares where you're shrouded in shadow and you can't see or hear anything but whispers and darkness?"

Taking her wide eyes as a yes, she continued, "That would be the dark blood you carry in you, calling you to the darkness. I can help you make that go away, Winry. I can show you how to control your shadows."

"Y-You mean, _**I'm **_a shadow alchemist?" Winry stuttered, looking at Pinako who seemed just as shocked as her.

Gray nodded, "Aren't you tired of always being the one to be protected from harm? Always having to stay at home waiting for a phone call or letter that may or may not come?"

Winry could feel her heart soar. What would it be like to stand alone and help protect others and not have to depend on the Elric's? It was scary, but she wanted to be _strong_.

Pinako looked at Winry and saw the hope and determination in her eyes. She was not entirely sold on the idea, however. "Why should we trust you? A stranger?"

Gray glanced at Pinako then back outside.

"Because if I really wanted to, I could have killed you and taken Winry anyway."

Pinako sat shocked until Winry said, "What do I have to do?"

"Winry-you can't-"Pinako started, but Winrey stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm tired of feeling useless grandma-I want to _help_. You can watch over the automail shop while I'm gone, can't you?"

There was so much hope in her eyes that Pinako couldn't deny her. Sighting, she said, "I'll do it."

"Alright," Gray said, "You will be gone for about year training with me. The only person to know your whereabouts is your grandmother, and that's a stretch for me. Pack your bags- we leave tonight."

Winry nodded and ran up the stairs. Gray and Pinako also stood up and walked to the door. She clasped her cloak back on and turned to Pinako. "I will allow her two letters every three months and one phone call every other month. She is too weak now, and many people would kill to get their hands on her. I'm, surprised no one else noticed her presence before."

Pinako was upset that she wouldn't be seeing her granddaughter for a year, but it was for the best. "And what if the Elric brothers come back? What do I tell them?"

"Tell them she will be gone doing automail work indefinitely. Tell them she's dead. I don't care. As long as no one knows her true location, she'll be safe." Gray replied, waving her hand.

Winry trudged down the stair with one suitcase and a bag in tow- her cloak already on. "Alright. I'm ready."

After kissing Pinako goodbye, Winrey followed Gray into the storm. Instead of using an umbrella like Winry did, Gray just solidified the matter above her.

Waving goodbye, Pinako didn't go inside until both women were out of sight moving toward the train station. Shaking her head, she chuckled, picturing the look on the pip squeaks face when he got here and found out that Winry wouldn't be.


	2. Chapter 2:Unexpected Arrivals

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters except "The Shadow" and Gray with her crew. **

**Author's Note: ****Sorry for not updating as soon as I planned to! Thank you to Usagi0Mori, blackwitch, Pinky Milky and hot pink123 for reviewing! And also to everyone who favorited or story alerted, you guys make me so happy! **

**Chapter Two: Unexpected Arrivals**

The entire train ride there, Gray was constantly moving, Winry observed. It was like she could not stand to stay still for longer than three seconds if she wasn't sleeping. When Winry commented about this, Gray looked steadily at her and replied, "Hardly any of us can. We never stop moving when we're alone; it's dangerous. Plus," She continued, rolling her shoulder and massaging her neck, "I can just _feel _my muscles deteriorate along with my training skills. I've been traveling for _months_ looking for you, Ms. Rockbell."

"Winry, please. What do you mean 'any of us'? There's more than just you concentrated somewhere? Do you have a headquarters or something? Is that where we're going? How long have you looked for me?"

Gray eyed Winry for a moment before standing in the small cab and closing the door with a huff. Turning, she said to Winry, "I guess I owe you some explanation don't I? Well, I won't be able to say as much as I want, but when we get to where we're going, I'll fill you in more." Gray sat down across from Winry. "Okay. First question. I mean 'any of us' by the fact that yes, there are other people like us, and no, we don't really have a headquarters but we do have small groups of us scattered around many places. I'll show you later. No, that's not where we are headed. And I guess I've looked for you for about….six months? With no contact to any of the other Yami kontorora, we didn't know if one of us had you or not."

Winry was baffled at the intensity that these people wanted her and her power. Her face probably said it all, because Gray looked smug, "Like I said- I'm surprised no one came to find you before me. And I don't mean one of the Yami's."

The way she left the sentence unanswered made shivers go up and down Winry's spine. "But _why?_ I didn't even know that I possessed that sort of power. I shouldn't have these kinds of people after me! I haven't done anything to harm anyone!"

Winry was being ridiculous and probably sounded like a kindergartener, she knew. It was just so difficult to think that she was in this deep over here head without even realizing it.

"Look, Winry. I may have been out of commission as of late, but I _don't _slack off. So even when I was searching for you, I trained every day. That's probably why I'm so restless, so don't you worry your pretty little head- I'll keep you safe." Just as Winry was beginning to think that she wasn't as bad after all and that her façade of nonchalance was just a mask, she continued, "Unless you piss me off."

With a slight smirk at the shock on Winry's face, she closed her eyes and leaned against the window of the train. "We've got about six more hours until we arrive at our destination. I'm going to sleep for a while. I suggest you do the same."

Nodding, Winry curled into a ball and lay across the seat. Soon, her mind began to slowly drift to sleep and darkness and she could no longer feel the gentle rocking of the train.

"Let's _go _Blondie!" Gray yelled, pulling on Winry's arm and tugging her off the ground.

Growling irritably, Winry whined, "But we've been doing this for _hours _and I'm _so tired." _

Her training had been miserable. After the train ride, Gray hauled Winrey off the train and made her carry the luggage the three miles they had to walk. Winry was gasping for air and her lungs were on fire by the time that sunset came around and they arrived at the small cottage-like home.

Gray led the way into the house and told Winry to place her things in the spare room upstairs. She did as she was told and was pleasantly surprised at the room. With a twin sized bed and yellow covers, a desk, and a pretty lamp, the layout was simple and put Winry right at home. After coming downstairs, Gray stuffed her full of food, and told her to go straight to bed if she wanted to be able to get up on the morning.

Of course, Winry had tossed and turned all night from nightmares and hardly got any sleep at all. So when Gray barged in her room at three in the morning with her hair braided and shorts on, her total amount of sleep was probably around two. The fire- haired woman pulled her out of her warm bed, tossed some workout clothes in her direction, and dragged her out to the enormous amount of property surrounding the little cottage, commanding Winry to begin doing laps with her.

Now three hours later, the sun had just begun to rise over the mountains behind the house and light Winry's face as she laid face-first in the field.

Gray finally stopped pulling at Winry's arm and dropped down next to her in the grass. "You're right. You're too tired and weak. Why did I ever think I could actually train you?" With a puff of air, Gray stood and looked down at her pathetic form. "I guess you better call Pinako and the Elric brothers - if you even know where they are- and let them know that you quit on day one."

Shrugging, she began to walk away until she heard a lot of grunting behind her and gasps for her to "Wait." Winry stood to her full height and looked Gray in the eye. "No. Ed and Al didn't give up and no one will keep me from achieving my goal of getting stronger! I _will_ prove my worth as a shadow alchemist!"

Gray looked at her up and down. Her hair was in a messy loose bun, her T-shirt and shorts and dirt covering them, and her eyes had deep purple bags under them. Her face was set in determination, but if she was expecting a pat on the back and a cookie for her speech, she had another thing coming.

Giving a curt head nod, Gray replied, "Thirty more laps around the entire field then give me one hundred crunches. We'll take a lunch break there, and then we go hiking on the mountain. Go on. Get a head start and I'll catch up with you in a minute."

Mouth gaping open and tears stinging her eyes, Winry set off on her route.

Maybe she'll make it after all.

**Normal POV:**

"Two years, Al, two tears." Edward sighed contently as they left the train station and walked the familiar route to the Rockbells' home.

Al nodded and replied, "I'm still getting used to my human body, brother. And just wait until we tell her about your-"

"SHHHHHH!" Edward practically tackled his younger brother in the middle of the road. "No one can over hear before her or she'll kill us both!"

Alphonse chuckled goodheartedly. When it came to Winry, Strange emotions like fear actually showed on Edward's face. Put him up against a couple of Homunculi though, and you'd think they were fluffy rabbits.

"Don't worry brother, I'll be quiet." Edward slowly detached himself from his brother's side, picked up his suitcase that he'd tossed aside in his haste, and resumed the walk to Winry's house.

_And just wait until granny sees how tall I've gotten. _Edward thought smugly.

The brothers finally arrived at the automail shop-slash-home of the Rockbell family. Mildly surprised at the lack of welcome given by Winry, Edward cautiously approached the door.

"Winry? Granny? Where are you guys?" Alphonse shouted into the window. The boys fell silent when the sound of shuffling feet was heard.

"Yes?" Pinako questioned, opening the door. When she saw the boys, her eyes slightly widened but she covered it with a shifting of her pipe. "Oh. The Elric brothers. To what do I owe the pleasure? Did you break another arm or leg again, shrimp?"

Edward growled and grit his teeth together to keep from yelling at the old woman. "Aren't you going to invite us in?" He ground out.

"I suppose I have to, don't I?" Pinako left the door open and walked back into the house. "It's almost dinner time. Do you boys want something to eat?" Alphonse readily agreed and sat down at the table, eagerly engaging Pinako in idle conversation.

Edward frowned and set his bad down next to the door. _It's odd that Winry hasn't come screaming at me about how horribly I've treated her precious automail. _He looked at Pinako suspiciously, who had Alphonse setting the table for three, not four. So unless she had taken his silence as a no, he wasn't hungry, or Pinako had decided someone wasn't going to eat, something was up.

"Where's Winry, granny?" Edward asked, abruptly plowing into hers and Alphonse's conversation. Al's head swiveled in his brother's direction, his golden eyes widening and looked around, as if just realizing that she wasn't present.

Instead of answering, Pinako asked Alphonse, "Will you please serve the main dish on the plates? I'm getting too old to lift that giant pot." Blindly following her orders, Al nodded and took the large pot away from her and began placing it on the plates.

"Gran-"

"Thank you, Alphonse. Now sit down Edward, It's time to eat." Pinako said, pointing to a chair across from his younger brother.

"But, granny, where is-"

"Sit, Ed." Pinako interrupted again. She slid her chair out noisily and huffed under her breath, "Some gentlemen I have here. No one offered to pull out an old woman's chair. "

This caused Alphonse to blush furiously with shame and jumped out of his chair, leaning over to help her as much as he could. "All you had to do was ask -"

"WHERE. IS. WINRY?" Edward shouted. Alphonse and Pinako both stared at his clenched fists and red face. Al stood up completely and Pinako just folded her hand on the table and looked at him.

Minutes ticked by as no one spoke or moved. Finally, Ed's hands unclenched and he dropped into a chair. He lifted his eyes to Pinako, dread churning in his stomach. "Did something happen? Is she okay? Is she…Is she…" He gulped and could not finish his sentence.

Pinako sighed quietly. _I cannot tell them that she is dead- it would crush both of them if they believed me. But I can't tell them the truth, or Winry will be lost to me as well. _

Deciding to set their minds at ease, Pinako shook her head that she was not dead. The tension in the air dropped a bit until Edward questioned, "Then why did you not want to answer me?"

Silence again enveloped the small dining room, causing both boys to forcefully hold back questions. Pinako lowered her head in thought.

Edward feared the worst possible scenarios. Was she married now? Did someone come to the house and take her because of their research? It would be his fault, all his fault for not coming earlier. The guilt began to slowly eat at his heart. Was she in the hospital, breathing and kept alive on some machine? An intake of breath snapped his attention away from his inner turmoil and troubled eyes met tired ones.

"Do you boys remember when your mother died, and you came here?" They nodded in the affirmative. Pinako looked at Alphonse, "You were a suit of armor, and you-"she turned her gaze to Edward, "-you had no arm or leg."

"We _know _this. What does this have to do with Winry?" Edward snapped, becoming even more frustrated with every passing second.

"Patience Edward Elric! Winry had enough of it to wait on _you, _so you can exercise that right _now._" When Edward once again had control of his anger, he slumped in his chair and stared warily off into the distance.

"Now. You two felt weak and useless, did you not?" But, instead of falling into a pit of despair and giving up, you fought and became stronger. Well," She paused, searching for the right words. "About a month ago, Winry decided she was tired of waiting on someone to always have to come to her aid. And those someone's never sent a letter, called, or _something."_

Both boys lowered their r heads in shame and guilt. "We _wanted _to, Granny, really-"Alphonse began, but Pinako's hand silenced his apology.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, Alphonse. She is gone for now, but she will be back in about a year. Don't ask me why or how, but she will. That's it."

Pinako stood, leaving her full plate of food untouched on the table. "I'll see you boys in the morning. If you're not gone by then, of course." With that, she shuffled up the stairs and closed her door behind her.

**Winry's POV:**

Winry woke up again to the sound of birds outside her window and smiled bitterly at the sunlight steaming through.It's been two months in this hell Gray calls training. Winry has hiked, run, sprinted, crunched, and exercised until she felt nothing but numb at night. Her dreams still hadn't gotten any better and there were many nights that she woke up screaming.

_Wait. Sunlight and I'm still in bed? _She thought, panicking.

Winry tossed off her sheets and changed into a baby blue T-shirt and shorts, throwing herself out of her bedroom door. Pulling on her shoes, she pounded downstairs and ran to the door.

"May I ask where you are going?" Gray asked from behind her, a small hint of a smile in her words.

Winry spun around and saw Gray in unusual attire. Instead of workout garb, she wore loose black sweatpants and a navy blue tank with bare feet. "I-I don't understand."

Gray smirked and said, "You didn't think that physical fitness was all I was going to teach you did you? I told you that I would show you how to control your power and be _strong._ For the next month, we will stabilize your mind with meditation, and when you are done with that, then I will show you how to use and control your shadows. When you have mastered that and can hold your own during a spar with me, I'll phone a friend, and you'll have to beat him as well for your ticket to salvation." She said, ending with a wink. "Sound good?"

Winry bobbed her head up and down yes.

"Good. Then meet me at the giant rock underneath that tree," She said pointing out the door. "I left you some clothes on the chair in the hallway. Come out when you are dressed appropriately."

Winry waited until Gary had left for a while and had a mini private celebration. _Finally! Gray is going to teach me how to use my powers!_ She wondered about the man she would be training with and thought about the chance that he was an alchemist that knew Ed and Al.

_Oh, Ed. I miss you so much…_ She thought, but caught herself before she began to feel sorry for herself again. _I _need _to be stronger. To protect the people I love like you and Al do!_

With newfound excitement and determination, Winry grabbed that clothes that were left for her and dashed into her room to change.

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	3. Chapter 3:Surprises

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters except Gray and her crew. **

**Author's Note: ****Thank you for reviewing Shelby Lord, Usagi0Mori, Ann, and TickledBlue23! You guys are great! And also to anyone who favorited or story alerted, thank you. I usually try to update every week, but I've been kind of busy lately. I'll try to update sooner from now on. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Three: Surprises**

Winry crossed her legs and sat down in front of Gray, eager to learn what she would teach her. While her teacher still looked deep in thought, Winry allowed herself to quietly inspect her appearance and try to copy her. Gray was her idol in many ways and she wanted to be like her when she was done with training. She was smart, strong, and collected, but would not hesitate at the chance of speaking her mind.

As her fire red hair blew in the soft breeze, Winry tipped her head to the side and wondered what her past was. Gray was a pure mystery and in the months that she'd been here, not one person question had passed her lips.

"Careful, Winry, I think I can see smoke coming out of your ears. What's on your mind?" Gray asked suddenly, flipping her eyes open. "You can't have a clear mind if you have a ton of things you're thinking about."

Caught off guard, all Winry could do was shrug. She didn't want to discuss personal moment's right then; she was too excited to learn how to protect her mind. So instead of telling her the complete truth, Winry smiled and replied, "I'm just excited to learn about all of this mental strength."

Gray looked skeptical at first, but eventually decided to let it drop. "Alright. Let's get started then. Take your hair out of its binder. The first time I meditated, I found that it was easier if I could feel the elements. The wind through your hair and your bare feet touching the cool stone may relax you."

Doing as she was told, Winry pulled the binder out of her hair and placed her feet against the cool rock. A small smile touched her lips as she opened her sky blue eyes with content.

"Now, close your eyes. Good. Okay, I'm going to tell you how to clear your mind."

After a couple of hours of breathing exercises and focused thoughts, Winry felt accomplished. She could hear all the way across the field and into the mountain.

_This is easy! I don't know why she wants to do this for a mon-_

_**SLAP!**_

__Winry gasped and flailed her arms to keep her balance on the rock, but fell on her back anyway. After her vision was no longer fuzzy, she focused on Gray who was smirking as she sat on the rock above her.

"What just happened?" Winry demanded.

Smiling, Gray hopped off the rock and looked at her. "What just happened was that I distracted you and you lost focus! In the middle of a battle, when you need to stay calm and _not _lose focus the most, it's not going to be quiet, Winry."

Standing up and looking at her still sprawled on the ground, Gray helped her up. "Now come on, it's time for dinner."

Winry dumbly followed, noticing that the sun had actually gone down a long time ago. Her bones popped as she stretched her tired body and slipped into the house behind Gray.

Gray swiftly closed her bedroom door behind her and emerged seconds later clad in shorts and a black T-shirt, enunciating her fire red hair. Winry found herself in awe at her inhuman grace and yearned to move like that too.

_Maybe there's a trick. _Winry pondered.

Gray noticed that her pupil had stilled and glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. As she continued gathering dishes and ingredients, Winry's glare increased. After a while, Gray snapped her head to meet Winry's gaze with a growl.

"Are you going to stand there staring at me or are you going to go change out of those clothes?" She demanded.

Winry let out an embarrassed squeal and quickly darted in to her room, noisily slamming the door behind her. Shaking her head, Gray began slicing the vegetables for their stew.

When Winry clobbered down the stairs, Gray raised a quizzical eyebrow to her random behavior. Blushing slightly, Winry took a seat at the bar and looked at her feet.

After a few moments where Gray patiently waited for Winry to explain, she set down her cutting knife and spun towards Winry.

"What were you looking at back there, blondie?"

Winry shifted uncomfortably under the woman's penetrating glare. _Maybe this will allow her to open up to me. _

With a resigned sigh, Winry looked her in the eye and stuttered, "W-well I was looking at your g-gracefulness and was thinking that m-maybe hoping that youcouldteachmehowtodoit…?"

Gray blinked at the last mass of words that Winry said at a thousand miles per hour and had to silently decode what she said. After a few seconds passed, Gray opened her mouth to respond, but Winry beat her to it.

"It's okay if you don't want to, of course. I was just wonderi-"she was cut off by a clicking of Gray's tongue and a small smile forming on her lips.

"Look. All you had to do was ask. My _grace _as you call it happened naturally over time with the shadows. They teach you things and you don't even realize it." She chuckled softly, "Silas always called it my Akuma no sanpo or demon walk."

Winry perked up at that. Gray was actually telling her something personal and she intended to try and keep her talking.

"Who's Silas?" Winry questioned.

Gray stayed silent and moved to get the raw chicken to slice it and place in the fryer. Every chop became harder and bloodier on the chicken and Winry inwardly flinched. She knew she shouldn't have asked personal questions.

Winry began to mumble an apology, but Gray cut her off with a wave of her hand. She moved the now cooked chicken pieces into the pot and placed the lid on top, taking a seat next to Winry.

"Silas," she said quietly, crossing her legs "is my twin brother."

"Oh! Where is he? And the rest of your family?" Winry exclaimed, visibly, relieved. She smiled at Gray, but faltered when the older woman still looked haunted. The room seemed to be slowly getting darker and the shadows gathered in the corners.

Gray sighed and looked at Winry's innocent gaze. "Silas and I grew up with our parents a long way away from Amestris. They're…gone." She reluctantly said.

Confused, Winry furrowed her eyebrows and decided to try to get her to open up a little more. _Maybe if I tell her about my family, she'll tell me more about hers._

"My parents died when I was little, during a war. They gave medical aid to their side and the opposing one; something they weren't technically allowed to do. All they wanted to do was heal people and look at how they ended up." Winry's eyes dropped away from Grays, but she quickly continued on.

"But they died doing what they loved and with each other. Now my family is Ed, Al, and Auntie Pinako. We all love and take care of each other."

Gray nodded sympathetically and moved to stir the soup. Winry began to get slightly angry and was about to stand up and shake this lockbox of a woman until she told her _something_ when Gray granted her wish.

"My parents were murdered as well, though not in the same way." She said bitterly, her back still turned. "You see, my brother and I were born with our powers just as you were. The only difference being that we were seen as demons….freaks. Even by our parents."

Gray moved to the bar and propped her head in her hands. "My family lived so far away from what you would call an 'advanced town' that they had no knowledge of alchemy at all. So we were marked as evil and banned from ever showing our abilities."

As if she needed reassurance that she still could, Gray beckoned to the shadows and held the cloud in her hands. Separating some of it in half, one formed the shape of a boy and the other a girl.

"What my parents and our town didn't know was that my brother and I practiced and sparred in secret. However, without proper knowledge, guidance, and training, we were ignorant and stupid. Silas continued to get angrier at all of the people calling us demons and sought out the blackest darkness he could find. Being the younger twin, I followed my older brother blindly until one night when he went too far."

The little boy figure ran away from the girl when she wasn't looking and sliced the inside of his arm; causing blackness to pour out and create a new image. Winry gasped and held her hands over her chest.

A giant monster-like creature appeared before the boy and held out its hand, which the boy took.

"Silas made a deal with Seikatsu no Yami, yearning for a self-righteous punishment for anyone who had ever done us wrong."

Winry meekly interrupted for the first time, "I'm sorry, Seikatsu no Yami?"

Gray nodded, unfazed. "The living darkness. You see what I'm manipulating here? _This _is what we as shadow alchemists to control and have manipulation over. It's like the difference between inanimate objects and organic beings. And Winry,"

Her sudden drop in tone made chills go through Winry and her attention snap to only her next words. "I want you to promise me that you will _never_ associate with Seikatsu no Yami or anyone who does. It's extremely dangerous and I'm about to give you an example of just how awful things can go, understood?"

Winry solemnly nodded, "I promise."

Gray nodded once and continued her tale, "I tried to talk Silas out of it; tried to tell him that this would solve nothing and prove others' points that shadow alchemy was dangerous, but he would not listen. Instead, he got angry and demanded to know just who's side I was on."

The figures turned on each other, wielding weapons as the monster looked in, smiling.

"Our fight escalated to the point where we were actually trying to kill each other. I would yell between blows that his alchemy was separating us on purpose, but he would not listen. I missed a fatal block and my own twin stabbed me through my side with live shadows."

The girl fell to her knees as the boy retrieved his sword from her body and stood shocked, dropping the sword. The boy kneeled next to the dying body and held her in his arms. He shook her and turned to the monster, gesturing to it for help with his female companion. Winry, though knowing that Gray had not died and would be fine, began to well up with tears at the sad sight.

"I awoke some time later to a giant hole in my side and I tried something that was crazy. I called my shadows out from around me and weaved them through my wound, sewing it up. I limped into town, seeing everything on fire. Shadows leapt everywhere, killing and torturing my friends and neighbors. I made my way over to my house quickly, using my own shadows to fend off my brother's. When I finally arrived, the creature my brother called stood next to him as he choked my mother and stabbed my father."

Before the figure of the boy and monster could act out her words, Gray waved them away- leaving only the girl standing alone.

"Silas probably saw me, but I suppose he didn't want to kill any more of his family that day. I ran away from the charred remains of what used to be my town and found the man who taught me and invited me to live with his 'house.'"

Gray waved away the remaining shadow and let it creep back into the night.

"I was sixteen years old and Maddox never asked me where I was from or why I was running away from my past, and he let me in to train with him and the other Yami Kontorora."

Heartbroken for Gray, Winry asked a question that may cause more pain, "Where is Silas now?"

Gray stood and began serving the stew in bowls before answering. "I feel him sometimes. His heart blackens every day and for a long time, all I did was search for him, come hell or high water. Until Maddox gave the assignment to find you, anyway. Your backstory looked like mine in the family department and you had yet to tap into your potential. Plus, you were pretty much just sitting out there in the open begging to be taken by the wrong people."

Gray smirked at Winry and gestured for her to come sit at the table with her and she happily obliged.

"And to answer your question, no. I don't know where he is, but I have a feeling I'll find out soon."

**Normal POV:**

Alphonse watched his brother mope around the house yet again. It has only been one month since they've been visiting Pinako and there Edward was, sulking like no tomorrow.

Al attempted to gain his brother's attention by asking him a question about alchemy, but only got a shrug and a blank stare.

Grunting in annoyance, Alphonse pushed his chair away from the table and marched up to Edward. This was _not _the older brother he knew, and he was sick and tired of being the optimistic one.

"Brother." Alphonse said, waving his hand in front of Ed's face and still getting no reaction.

"Edward Elric!" He yelled, getting in Ed's face and blocking his view of everything but his golden eyes.

"Huh?" Edward lazily hummed, unfazed.

"You have been like this since we got here, brother. No, Winry's not here and yes, we should have left her news of our whereabouts but we can't do anything about that now. Don't you think Winry would be very angry with you for acting this way?" Alphonse yelled, attempting to hold Edward's attention.

Huffing and crossing his arms, Edward turned his face away from his younger brothers accusing glare. "You used to not yell this much, Al."

Alphonse was at his boiling point and lost his well-groomed self-control. He grabbed Edward by the front of his shirt and shook him slightly. "Who are you? You have two feet and legs-use them! Stop being a piss-poor excuse for a human being or I'm-I'm. I'll tell Winry when she comes back how you were acting!"

Breathing heavily, he held Edward up and kept his glare steady to see if his words had gotten through to him.

"Geez, Al. Alright, what do you want me to do? I was just taking a break…"

Alphonse sighed and placed Ed back on his feet. "Let's spar," He said with a grin, "With all that moping around, I bet I can beat you now."

Edward scoffed in disbelief, "Right! I'd like to see you try!"

_**TIME SKIIIIPPPP**_

Pinako prepared a large dinner after a long day of automail repairs and smiled slightly at the sight outside. She knew that Alphonse would eventually talk sense into Edward.

As she washed the lettuce needed for the salad, she watched the boys spar out the window. Pinako had to admit, the boys were almost equally matched, with Edward being the senior. Seeing as how Alphonse got his body back a few years ago and Edward lost his alchemy, they both had a crutch.

Pinako could see where each boy made up for this, however. Edward moved more tactfully and was not as brash as he used to be and Alphonse was extremely fast.

_That's really nice of Alphonse to not use his alchemy on Edward because he has none. Those boys would do anything for each oth-_

_**CLAP!**_

What she saw next made her gasp and drop the freshly washed lettuce on the floor. Both boys snapped their heads in the direction of the house with wide eyes.

Edward was crouched on the ground, palms resting in the grass and blue lightning surrounded the metal block protruding from the ground. Alphonse, who had made a wall to protect him from Edward's alchemy, wore a smug look after the initial shock.

"I _told you _we should have said something to her about it."

X

x

X

Please Review!


	4. Chapter 4: More Questions, Less Answers

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters except for Gray and her crew. **

**Chapter Four: More Questions, Less Answers**

Two blond haired, golden eyes boys sat under the scrutiny by a short elderly woman and both gloomily looked at the offending metal object protruding from the ground.

Alphonse opened his mouth to speak and explain what just happened, but halted when a withering glare from the woman silenced him. Hands on her hips, Pinako paced on the grass in front of the boys, only pausing briefly to glare at one or the other.

Finally, with a sigh of resignation, she turned and stopped, eyebrows raised in question. "What in the _world _has gone on since I last saw you two? Edward…you…?"

At the blank stare that was his only response, she huffed angrily and turned to Alphonse. "Granny, I—"

A hand on his shoulder stopped his explanation, and Al turned to see that it was indeed Edward. "Had nothing to do with it." Ed finished, glancing meaningfully at his brother and Pinako.

Standing up and dusting off his clothes, Edward extended a hand to Alphonse who readily accepted it and stood with his older brother.

Bristling with anger, Pinako snapped, "And just where do you think you're going? Your gate was _gone _and now you're telling me that you got it back? What makes you think you can leave without telling me what happened to you?"

Turning back to Pinako for a moment, Edward asked for the last time, "What happened to Winry?"

Sighing quietly, she wished she could tell them. "At the moment, I honestly don't know and even if I did, I'm not allowed to speak about it or she'll be in serious trouble." She recited, having had said this many times over the past four months.

Before she could even finish her sentence, the two had turned away and were headed quickly back to the house where they could sulk in peace.

When Pinako finally arrived at the doorstep that the brothers had passed many minutes ahead of her, both boys were in Ed's room, speaking in low tones and whispers. That was never good. She spun on her heel and decided to leave it alone for tonight.

After cooking dinner, Pinako called the boys down from their hovel and noticed that they had both brightened, but had an undercurrent of fear.

_ Fear of me? _She wondered, but quickly scrapped that idea when Edward adamantly fused to touch his milk even with her calling him an abused shrimp.

When she set the boys to cleaning the after dinner dishes, she saw her opening to interrogate them both. Casually shuffling around behind them, the old woman asked quietly, "What are you two planning?"

Both boys' backs tensed at the sound of her voice and paused in the act of washing and drying to turn to her; fake smiles already in place.

Pinako's eyes narrowed behind her glasses when each boy stumbled over the others incoherent sentences and Edward shot a glare Al's way when the younger brother slipped some information.

"What was that, Alphonse?" She questioned, making the boy fidget under her gaze.

Edward threw his hands up in the air as a show of exasperation and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring a hole into the floor. "Go on, Al. Might as well tell her now." He ground out.

"W-well Auntie Pinako, we would love to stay here longer, but—"

"Just cut to the chase, Al." Edward jumped in, earning a swift kick to the shins from Pinako.

As Edward hopped around in the kitchen background muttering about being pushed around by a flea, Pinako spoke to Al; ignoring Ed completely. "Continue please, Al."

Sweat dropping from the profanities his brother was breathing, Al nervously continued. "Uh, well, Ed and I thought that since we haven't seen teacher in a long time, we would visit her as well."

Both boys flinched at the mention of the woman who could make them cry at a glance, but Pinako continued her interrogation. "And this has nothing to do with the fact that Edward's alchemy is back?"

Al stuttered violently and gestured around with his hands in a frenzy, while Edward stood, arms crossed and nose upturned, refusing to take part in the conversation.

Silencing Alphonse's rambling with a wave of her hand, Pinako realized that she could not persuade them to tell her the real reason for their visit—especially Edward.

"When will you be leaving?" She questioned much to the surprise of the brothers.

"Early tomorrow morning- probably before the sun rises." Edward replied, breaking his stony silence. "We shouldn't be gone too long, but no promises with teacher."

Nodding, she walked over to each of them and said her goodbyes just in case they left earlier than she woke. Both boys meandered back to the half empty (or half full…?) sink and continued their chore, quickly trying to finish so they too could get some rest.

The two brothers bickering about the dishes standing side by side put a smile on Pinako's face as she trudged up the stairs and worried about her granddaughter.

XxX

_I am_ _so tired. _

Duck.

All she had wanted to do was ask Gray about her past.

Parry.

Now it looked like she was intent on taking out her bad past experiences on Winry.

Dodge, crouch, sweep!

"C'mon, Winry! I could've had you dead ten different ways by now!" Gray whined; easily jumping over Winry's leg as it swept under her.

Grunting irritably as Gray playfully extended her index finger and poked her in the forehead, Winry shoved her hand away and stood up. "Well _maybe _if you would teach me about my alchemy, I would be better and stronger."

Gray rolled her eyes and sighed, lunging at Winry once again, holding her forearms against her front. Planting one foot on the ground, she lashed out with the other free leg. Letting her frustration over being ignored the past few weeks seep into her, Winry grabbed the foot. She stood wide eyed, grasping the foot for all her worth and looked at Gray.

"Good!" the red head yelled. Using her momentary pivot point with Winry holding her foot, Gray pushed off the ground with her hands and kicked with the other leg, her foot landing square in the middle of Winry's collarbone. She yelped with pain and dropped Gray's foot, making them both fall unceremoniously to the ground.

Gray crouched and quickly back flipped to avoid Winry's powerful feet striking the area she had once occupied seconds before. Winry got to her feet and charged Gray head –on, but faked a kick and narrowed her eyes.

Quickly, Gray bent into the punch and came back up elbowing Winry's chin upwards, making her airborne momentarily. Using this to her advantage, Gray kicked her exposed stomach, launching her across the grassy field.

She landed with a soft _**plop **_and a puff of dirt clouded around her until she skidded to a stop. When Winry didn't get back to her feet and instead lay out in spread eagle on the grass, Gray picked up the water bottles they'd discarded after meditating and sat down next to Winry.

With one arm tossed over her eyes, Winry didn't react to the rustling beside her she knew was Gray. She felt the cool water bottle press into her side and promptly ignored that as well. For a while, the only sound was the crickets and Winry's raspy breathing.

"Winry, I haven't been ignoring you. You're the only person I've seen for the past five months." Gray sighed.

Winry scoffed. "Yes you have! After you told me about your brother and gave me a slight glimpse into your past, you shut me out. No matter how many things I've told you about my life, you won't budge or talk about it."

Gray plucked a few blades of grass off the ground and stared at them intently in the setting sun before replying. "Look—I'm not trying to push you away or anything, but there are some things that I don't want to discuss with you. I admit, we haven't spoken as much—"

"That's called _ignoring someone." _ Winry interrupted.

Gray groaned and fell down next to her blond haired apprentice and flopped her head over to see an accusing blue eye peering at her. She sighed mentally. _This seemed so much easier with Maddox and the other Yami…_ Scrubbing gloved hands over her face, she asked despairingly, "What do you want from me?"

Winry removed her arm completely and rolled to her stomach, blowing at the grass that was intruding on her face. She glanced at the woman scowling at her and for the first time in months, thought about how alike she and Edward were. To get him to open up about his feelings was like trying to get Gray to talk about her past—constantly beating her head against a brick wall with no results.

_I can use that experience with Ed to try and get through to Gray. _

She swirled her head to meet the grey eyes waiting expectantly for an answer. She would have to tread lightly…

"I want to be your friend." She said bluntly.

_Damn! That's not what I thought would come out of my mouth! Good job, now she'll never tell you. You're just a nosy eighteen year old kid that's intruding on her life. _She thought darkly.

Rolling to sit up and bending one leg to rest an arm on, Gray turned a raised eyebrow to Winry incredulously. "My friend, huh?"

Nodding vigorously, she opened her mouth to elaborate but was silenced by Gray's hand waving her off.

Pursuing her lips thoughtfully, she nodded to herself once. "I'll make you a deal. On top of meditating and training with and without weapons, I'm going to add on to that that you must read whatever books I toss your way and answer any questions I have for you. Don't give me that look—ignorance is _not _bliss."

Winry rolled her eyes and squinted at Gray. "Fine. And in return?"

"In return, I give you permission to ask me one personal question per day. Anything you want to know about myself or shadow alchemy—and I'll answer truthfully." Smiling slightly at Winry's excited expression; she stood up and brushed away the grass that clung to her clothes with Winry following closely after.

"So," Winry asked hands behind her back and feigning innocence. "I did well in training today, huh?"

Suspicious at her tone, Gray grabbed the water bottles from the ground and chunked them at her, which she easily dodged. "I suppose your reflexes and all that have improved, yes. What are you after?"

Winry pouted slightly, disheartened that she was so easily seen through. "Well I was thinking…since you're already teaching me hand-to-hand combat, meditation, research, _and _shadow alchemy, don't you think that you need to call someone in to help you?"

Gray narrowed her eyes and turned to walk back into the house, mulling over her words. True, she was exhausted at the end of every day, and that was without the inclusion of shadow alchemy and research questions. Frowning, her doubt and hard headiness began to kick in and wondered for a moment if Winry doubted her abilities.

Gray shook her head slightly; that couldn't be it. Winry had told her previously that she looked up to her as a role model for what she wanted to achieve, so really, what was the problem?

_The problem is actually contacting the man. He hardly ever stays in one place very long. _The pessimistic voice inside her head nagged.

Well, she could try, she argued. All she had to do was find a way to get a letter through to him through the shadows without alerting the Seikatsu no Yami, or her brother.

Walking through the threshold of the house, Gray huffed and turned around to face Winry as the girl closed the door behind her.

"Damnit, Winry." Wide blue eyes looked up fearfully, "When do you _not _get what you want?" Fear turned to excitement.

XxX

After dinner, Gray grabbed Winry and they made their way down to the basement. Before tonight, Winry had no reason to venture down there, but Gray informed her that this was where she would find her books for her research.

Slumping down the stairs into the darkness, Gray fumbled around until she hit the light switch and Winry gaped at the room.

The walls were evenly shelved and crowded with lots and lots of old _books. _There was only one free corner of the room where there were multiple lamps and fluffy-looking chairs in between low shelves holding what looked to be maps and charts.

Gray made her way through the surprisingly free-of-clutter floor and over to a shelf of books. She slammed textbook after textbook onto the table that rested in the center of the basement and turned to Winry, placing her hands on her hips.

Gray gestured Winry over to the polished wooden table and began separating them into piles. When Winry was hovering beside her red-headed teacher, Gray pointed to one stack.

"I want you to read these four this week, then those, those, and those." With each word, her pale finger jabbed at another stack of books. Placing her hand on her hips and grinning wickedly, Gray asked, "Any questions?"

Winry began to shake her head no, but decided that now was as good a time as any to poke and prod about what she suggested earlier that day.

Grey eyes met blue at Winry's pause and she quickly asked, "How are you going to send for help, if you need it of course, with no connection to him?"

Gray scoffed and motioned for Winry to grab the first stack of books and headed to the stairs. Mockingly clutching at her chest, Gray turned to Winry as the blond cleared the basement stairs and moved to her room.

"Your lack of faith wounds me deeply." She chided, following her to Winry's desk in her room to place the books. Winry rolled her eyes and turned to the woman leaning against her door frame.

"I have no doubt that you _can, _I'm just wondering _how._ Can you show me please?" Winry asked, purposely making her eyes puppy dog huge and pouting slightly when Gray shook her head.

Sighing, Gray crossed her arms and watched her student's eyes dim. "I have no problem with letting you see how I send it. I suppose I could change around your schedule of training until help gets here. I'll teach you a little bit of shadow alchemy in the morning, but don't get your hopes up too high—don't give me that look, you know what I mean. Only when I think you can handle the basics will I send the letter. It might not be tomorrow if you can't catch on." She ended with a wink.

_Don't jump around like a little girl. Don't do it. Don't you dare! _Winry commanded herself.

"So…that means that it involves shadow alchemy to get the message through, right? Is that dangerous? Have you written the letter yet? What do you mean the basics? Who is your helper? You say he's a guy, do you think Ed and Al would know him?" By the end of her bombardment of questions, her voice had risen to the point of making Gray's head pound.

Growling irritably, the red head marched over to Winry's desk and spread out the books she had picked out. Upon closer inspection, Winry realized that two of the books consisted of the history of shadow alchemy, one looked like a journal of some sort, and that last had a blaring title of _Shadow Basics. _

"Oh. Well that still doesn't answer my question about the guy." Winry went on, only to be completely ignored as if she hadn't even spoken. Shrugging, Winry took the _Shadow Basics _book and made herself comfortable on her bed.

Gray walked out of the room grumbling about having to watch a kid and cook the _damn_ dinner **again **and did the Yami take her to be some kind of babysitting domestic cook, or something?

With the click of the door, Winry opened the book, but soon placed it back on the bed after a few attempts to read it. She missed the boys and her grandmother dearly, and had not written them since arriving, having been so busy and exhausted. Winry made her way over to the desk and pulled out a pen and paper to begin her letter to Pinako. Maybe when Gray sent her message, her teacher would allow her to send hers as well.

XxX

"Think of the shadows as a solid object that is incredibly malleable. Now, place your hands on the shadow on the ground, and slowly pull it with your hands like your pulling taffy. "

_Eighth time's the charm, _Winry thought bitterly. It was early morning and the two women sat under what Winry called the 'Meditation and Relaxation tree' that was quickly being dubbed the 'Frustration and Angry tree' with every passing minute.

At first, the early morning breeze under the gently swaying leaves _was _relaxing to the blond. Until about two seconds later when the she-devil she called master tried to tap into Winry's so-called talent. After focusing her thoughts and clearing her mind in meditation, Gray instructed her the first time just as she was doing now.

Furrowing her brow and closing her eyes in concentration, Winry placed her hand on the grass where a tree cast a shadow on the ground. Instead of blindly grasping at the smoke-like substance like she felt that she was, Winry instead tried to picture the shadow as a rubber band that she could contort any which way.

Opening her blue eyes slightly to focus on the one area she was reaching out to, she noticed that the shadow twitched. Shocked, Winry's resolve steeled as she felt the power radiate from the dark cloud that was slowly coiling around her forearm.

If she had moved her eyes over to where the red head was seated, she would have seen the slight frown marring her face. The way that shadows reacted to her…it was like they knew who she was and how to manipulate itself around her. They'd already covered how to protect her mind during their meditation sessions, but could Gray have possibly missed that presence of the Seikatsu no Yami? Panic bubbled in her chest. Winry was already past basic shadow alchemy.

Winry, on the other hand, was delighted that she could control the shadows so easily and chalked it up to the fact that Gray had taught her from the ground up and that she'd stayed up all night reading the books Gray assigned her. Out of the two she'd finished, Winry focused the most on the basic shadow book and attempted to replicate what she had read into reality.

Suddenly, Winry lost all focus on her alchemy and with a snap that felt as if the tense rubber band broke; the shadow retreated back under the tree. If she was not mistaken, before it left her grip, the feeling of strength withdrew to fear of another being.

Raising her glistening blue eyes to Gray's, the girl finally realized the troubled state she was in. Before she could get a word out however, Gray beat her to the punch with an intense gaze.

"Answer me truthfully. What did you feel when you let it go?" She questioned warily, watching Winry for a response.

Slightly surprised at her teacher's worry, Winry told her of the power and the fear as it practically ran from her.

Grunting quietly, Gray rose from her position on the boulder and practically ran to the house.

"Where are you going?" Winry called, freaked out by her teacher's response. No words always equaled trouble with Gray. Winry jogged after Gray, following her noises down to the basement and found the woman already seated at the long table scratching away at a piece of paper.

"What's the matter?" The blond questioned, looking over the red-head's shoulder just waiting to see the letter that would kick her out and send her home.

Hiding the name and message away, Gray folded the small piece of paper and stood abruptly, almost knocking Winry over with the chair.

The blond cried out in slight pain as the leg of the chair made contact with her shin and that made Gray snap out of her crazed dashing for a second.

"Calling in reinforcements." She said with a wink, moving quickly back up the stairs. Winry wasn't buying it, tough—her eyes still held that haunted and scared look.

Winry stood there stupidly for a couple of heartbeats, but quickly recovered as the excitement over powered her fear of whatever creeped Gray out with the prospect of sending letters sooner rather than later.

Pounding up the stairs after her teacher, Winry shouted, "Wait! I have a letter I want to send, too!"

XxX

For once, the man had decided to stay in one place longer than one day.

After Winry had finished frolicking around looking for her letter home, Gray led her back to the basement where the most shadows lay. She instructed Winry to light one candle and turn off the rest of the lighting around the house and lock all the doors and windows.

The thought of being underground, in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, about to call shadows, caused Winry to believe that she might have a slight heart attack, and after doing what she had been told to do, slouched into a chair near where Gray was preparing to call the shadows.

Holding both letters in her lap, Gray beckoned to the shadows surrounding them and turned both hands around in a circle in front of her. Releasing the small bubble to float in the air momentarily, the woman stood up and clapped both hands down on the orb, flattening it in to the shape of a saucer.

Gray picked up the letters from where they fell on the ground and read Winry's address out loud along with who was to receive it in the house. The letter was whisked away in the lazily swirling whirlpool of darkness and Winry watched, amazed. Gray's address was one that the young blond had never heard before, and the name was mumbled so fast and so quiet that Winry didn't catch it.

Still deep in thoughts too troubling to be voiced to anyone but Maddox, the older woman watched the white of her letter to the only other man she trusted sink deeper and deeper into the vortex with a silent prayer that he would receive it.

_ E, _

_ I found the one we were looking for. _

_ Things are more complicated than I originally thought. _

_ Come back where it started. _

_ G._

_X_

_x_

_X_

**Thank you for reading! You guys are the best! Thank you for reviewing Sushi Hawkeye, All-the-stuff-I-like, and Usagi0Mori! And to everyone else who favorited or alerted, thank you. **

**Okay, so first of all, please no one jump down my throat about not explaining Ed's alchemy just yet. I promise all will come into the light! **

**Second, if anyone has any questions or think that one of the characters are too ooc, let me know by review or PMing me! **

**Any ideas or characters that you want to see are welcome to put into the story line, let me know if you are bursting at the seams to give me a rockin idea and I'll try to put them in! **

**Oh, and does anyone know how to do the line break thing? Every time I try and do a little time passes skip, when I submit it to FF, it deletes it! It's infuriating! **

**Please Review ;)**


	5. Chapter 5: It Hits the Fan

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters besides Gray and her crew…and shadow alchemy, I guess. **

**I know this is a quick update, but it just pretty much poured out of my mind and I was really excited to share it with you guys, I hope you enjoy! **

**Chapter Five: It Hits the Fan **

"Winry will you please _sit down?" _Gray growled through her teeth. Winry turned her wide blue gaze to the woman clutching her coffee mug at the bar and rushed over, abandoning whatever menial task she was doing at the moment.

Gray sighed and took a sip out of the mug when Winry finally sat down across from her. Her reprieve was short lived, however when Winry continued to tap her fingers on the bar and bounce her foot on the stool.

The red head slammed the glassy black mug on the table and glared at the blond.

"Aren't you just a _little _excited? I mean, you haven't seen this guy in a long time, right?" The overly excited girl practically squealed.

Gray pinched the bridge of her nose and stood up to place her mug in the sink. She turned around and leaned against the counter, giving Winry a full view of her cut of jean shorts and off the shoulder black shirt.

She ran her fingers through her fire red waves and replied, "Look, he said he _might _come today, not necessarily will. Plus, he has a knack for constantly being late."

Winry raised an eyebrow at Gray and propped her hands under her chin. "You keep avoiding using his name. Why?"

The older woman looked away and tapped her fingers on the counter behind her rapidly and shrugged. "I haven't noticed that I have, really."

_Liar. _Winry thought, narrowing her eyes. "Well, you didn't answ—"

_**Knock. Knock. Knock. **_

__Gray completely forgotten, Winry whipped her head around to the sun lit door and went to stand, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Just because someone says they're who you want them to be doesn't mean they are. That could be an enemy and you were going to open it? Not your brightest idea." Gray murmured dryly. "Stay here out of sight until I call you out."

Winry nodded mutely and watched as Gray called her shadows around her like an aura and molded it into a small but deadly dagger in her hand as she approached the door.

_**Knock. Knock. Knock. **_

__With her other hand, Gray moved the shadows into long tendrils and sent them through one side of the door. Closing her eyes, Gray searched outside by looking with the eyes of the shadows. A small smile graced her lips and she withdrew her shadows and dismissed them from around her.

__Marching over to the door, she grasped the handle and wrenched it open.

A man in a dark long sleeved button up coat and black hat that concealed his eye s stood framed by the rising sun, his head lowered. Winry, disobeying Gray's earlier orders, crept into the entry way and watched, mouth agape as the man took off his hat.

Brown, shaggy hair that almost reached his shoulders, eyes as green as the grass outside and sharp aristocratic features on top of a muscular and toned body caused Winry to blush and look away for fear that he would catch her staring.

Winry glanced up through her eyelashes, not able to keep her gaze away for long and saw her teacher cross her arm and pop one hip to the side.

The man merely smiled a sweet, crooked smile at her and plopped his hat on her head, looking around behind her. "What have you gotten yourself into this time, Gray?"

XxX

After Gray invited the man inside the house, she turned around to find Winry blushing and shuffling uncomfortably right where she told her not to be. Scowling and placing her hands on her hips, she opened her mouth to yell at Winry care of herself, no doubt about taking care of herself. Her anger was almost laughable with the stranger's hat on her head messing up the image, but she was stopped when he spoke first.

"So, this is the girl Maddox sent us out to find?" He asked, looking at Winry and almost making her swoon at his baritone voice. "What's your name?"

Winry twitched uncomfortably under his intense gaze and her mind completely blanked.

_ My name? Uhhh…what was it again? Oh, yeah. Winry. Speak, you idiot! Speak! _Winry thought frantically, mentally slapping herself.

Extending her hand to the charming man and forcing herself not to stutter, she replied, "I am Winry Rockbell! Pleased to meet you!"

He shook her hand in return, his large hand completely engulfing hers, "Everett." Turning his body that was still slightly hidden behind Gray, he looked down at her after releasing Winry's hand, "Why can't you be that nice?" Everett asked teasingly.

Gray took his hat off her head, placed it in his hands and elbowed him in the gut. He let out a grunt of pain, bending down and dramatically clutching at his side, which earned a giggle from Winry.

The red headed woman rolled her eyes and began walking toward the living room. "When you're done acting like a seven year old and decide to become the twenty three year old man I know, take off your coat and join me in here."

Everett winked at Winry and draped his discarded coat and hat over a nearby chair, causing her to blush even harder and make her legs turn to Jell-O. His forest green shirt hugged his torso, enunciating all of his muscles and allowing his tanned arms to hang out pleasurably.

_Too bad he's not _my _age. _Winry thought grimly.

_What about Edward? _Another part of herself questioned meanly.

Her heart sped up slightly at the thought of her golden eyed childhood friend. Winry had accepted long ago that the feelings were one-sided, however depressing that may be. After coming home from fixing Al, Edward hadn't mentioned any feelings towards her and had left soon after.

Anger replaced the feeling of loneliness his departure and disappearance caused and she steeled herself away from the unwanted thoughts.

Resolutely following Everett into the living room where Gray was perched on a comfortable chair, Winry sat on the couch beside her teacher and Everett plopped in the chair across from her.

"So what's the major malfunction here? You couldn't handle one little girl by yourself? Or did you just not want to be by yourself?" Everett asked.

Anger flashed in Gray's eyes as her head snapped up from the book she was reading and closed it with an audible _**SNAP.**_

__Winry gulped, fidgeting by the intensity of Gray's fury, glancing in the corners of the room to see the shadows tremble.

"You don't understand what's happened, so don't barge in here and assume that you know everything." She snapped, leaving her chair and abandoning the book on the coffee table In front of him. Gray moved to the window and looked through it to the now blazing sun, leaving her back to them.

Winry could cut the tension in the room with a knife and started when Gray called her name. Turning her worried blue gaze from where it was resting on the titles black nook, Winry looked at the woman's back.

"Go to the basement and get the next stack of books to study, then go outside and practice your alchemy. If you feel something amiss, you come in here and warn one of us immediately. Alright?" Gray said, never turning around.

"Okay." Winry replied, pounding down the basement stairs and grabbing the pile. When she turned around to move back up however, a sliver of white in the corner of her eye caught her attention.

She glanced back up the towards the entry way to see if anyone was coming and slowly moved the books back on to the table. Winry tip-toed over to the small envelope and picked it off the ground, flipping it over to read the name.

Her eyes widened when she read that it was actually addressed to her. Heart racing, she shoved the slip of white in between the hem of her shorts and her back. Winry dashed to the books and took them, walking as calmly as possible back up the stairs and out the front door leaving Everett and Gray to discuss whatever it was that left her teacher so tense.

Moseying down to their meditation tree, Winry propped her back against the bark and opened the first book; a long list of what looked to be spells popping up at her. Wrinkling her forehead in confusion, Winry attempted to focus on the list, but couldn't seem to with the mysterious envelope scratching her back.

She knew she should wait until Gray could examine it for any hostile threats it posed, but she was busy and it was only a piece of paper, right? Glancing at the small, two story house, she shook her head. Gray would be _so pissed _and Winry was sure that it wasn't worth the trouble.

Standing up, Winry popped her bones and did a couple of stretches to loosen up, tucking the letter inside one of the books. When she was done running her laps and doing her exercises, Winry decided to do as Gray instructed and practice her alchemy skills with creating a weapon.

XxX

Two hours later found Winry tired and irritated seeing as the best weapon she could muster was a tiny dagger that wasn't even sharp. Winry fell back on the ground under the shade of the tree and closed her eyes against the sun. By the position of the glowing orb, she'd been out there for about three hours reading and training.

_Am I supposed to go back inside when I'm done? _She wondered, looking toward the house. Grumbling quietly, Winry sat up and grabbed a random book, opening it and preparing to read when a streak of white fell out and the envelope stared back at her once again.

Turning it around and around in her hands, she paused and stared at the name scrawled on it. There were no distinguishing marks on the envelope and despite the crumpled appearance caused by being pressed against Winry's body, the paper itself looked expensive.

_Definitely not Pinako…._ She paused in her thoughts when an idea hit her, making her gasp. _Maybe it's Edward and Alphonse telling us where they are finally! _She thought excitedly, not even pausing to think that they recently had no idea where she was.

Winry's fingers twitched on the envelope and she chewed on her bottom lip, glancing at the house. She was sure that Gray had more important things to do besides worry about a flimsy envelope.

Mentally shrugging, exhausted from all of the mental and physical work, Winry turned it over and popped the seal.

Winry closed her arms, but silence reigned with the occasional chirp of birds. She held it at arm's length and turned her face away in preparation for it to explode or something, but nothing happened. "Huh." She mumbled, secretly a little disappointed at the anticlimactic thing.

Reaching in, Winry dug into the envelope and pulled out the letter, unfolding it carefully.

She screamed at what she saw and her blood turned cold.

"Winry!" She heard Gray shout from far away.

All hell broke loose.

XxX

"Gray." Everett said after he was sure the young blond girl was out of hearing range.

The red headed woman slowly turned around to face him and was surprised at her appearance. She looked tired, worn out, and stressed beyond belief.

Gray scoffed and laughed quietly, rubbing her face with both hands and sliding down the wall. She rested the back of her head against it and closed her eyes before responding to his insult.

"I've been awake for a couple of nights making sure that her nightmares would stay away. Ever since the first time I connected her with her gate and allowed her to explore her alchemy, it's like the Seikatsu no Yami won't leave her alone in her sleep. It's worse than mine was." She groaned and Everett raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"How is that possible? Maddox said that yours were the worst was the worst he'd ever seen before!" Everett shouted, dumfounded, that such an innocent girl was so connected to the darkness.

"Exactly, Ev. The worst _he's _ever seen before." Gray replied, haunted grey eyes finally opening and looking into his. "My brother was the same way at that age, though he sought it out, which is why I don't underst—what?" she questioned, noticing his furious look as he sprang to his feet and moved towards her.

Everett crouched down in front of her and grabbed her forearms roughly. "Please tell me you told Maddox about your brother."

Her downcast eyes told him everything he needed to know. He thrust her arms away from him immediately and stood, looking down at her angrily. "Did you not think that that was an important piece of information, Gray? We could have used that to figure out so many things!" He practically screamed.

Rising to her feet, she faced his livid glare head-on. "You don't think that I realize that now? I didn't think that it would be a relevant piece of information until Winry came along! I was _sixteen, _Everett. Talking about my childhood was the last thing on my mind! My family had just been murdered by my own brother!"

Everett stepped closer to her—so close that their bodies were only a hairs length apart, but she would not back down and show weakness to him. "And yet you still tried to protect him! Protect the man who slaughtered your town, your friends, your parents…What else are you hiding from me and the other Yami to save that pathetic scrap of what you call family?" Gray's eyes dropped to the floor in shame, but still refused to move away.

"_Just whose side are you on, Gray?" _He clipped.

Her eyes snapped up at this; hurt and betrayal evident in her tear-filled eyes and Gray hastily stepped away.

Immediately, he regretted his words…the words her brother had spoken to her on the night of her parent's murder.

Everett reached out to grab her hand and keep her there so he could apologize, but she was already leaving; silently moving towards her bedroom when a scream halted her in her tracks.

Both of their bodies dashed to the front door and Gray wrenched it open.

"Winry!" Was all she could say before the darkness enveloped everything around them.

**Normal POV:**

"EDWARD ELRIC!"

Edward and Alphonse both paused in their retreat after knocking once on their teacher's door. Their heads slowly tuned around, both fearing the wrath of her anger.

Izumi marched forward and grabbed Edward by the collar of his shirt and jerked him around wildly. "What is this I hear about your alchemy? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE THIS TIME?"

Alphonse flailed his arms over his head, trying to get her to listen and stop strangling his brother. "Teacher! Teacher, please stop! Listen; oh, he's turning blue!" Al's protests fell on deaf ears as she chunked Edward's limp body down the walkway and into the street.

"Brother!" Al yelled, moving to run to his brother's side, nut was stopped with a bone-crushing hug by Izumi.

"Ah, precious Alphonse! You're looking great! How is your body working?"

"Uh…" Was all he could reply, arm still outstretched to help his twitching brother lying in the street.

Edward leapt to his feet, pointing at Izumi. "HE'S DOING JUST FINE, YA OLD HAG! I'm the one who needs helping, _**REMEMBER?" **_He shouted.

The teacher jerked away from Alphonse and went to begin round two with Edward when a giant hand on her shoulder hindered her movement.

"Sig!" Izumi gleefully called, stars in her eyes.

Edward took his opportunity to practically prance around his distracted teacher, and after Al had taken a second to warily watch his teacher for signs of attack, he quietly followed his brother as well.

For a while, it was as if they were actually only there for a visit; sitting at the table eating and having a good time behind the butcher shop. Of course, it couldn't last forever.

"So, Ed," Izumi began, placing her cup down and feigning indifference, but her twitching eye was a dead giveaway of her anger. "What brings you here?"

Ed sighed and placed both hands on each knee over his crossed legs. Shifting on his cushion, he met his teachers stare. "My alchemy is back. Yes, I know my gate was gone in exchange for Al's body, but as you know in alchemy, nothing is ever truly _gone." _

Edward paused and took a sip out of his tea, enjoying everyone's attention on him, save Alphonse. His younger brother felt that this was his entire fault, when in reality, he had nothing to do with it. Taking a deep breath, he continued.

"My gate and my alchemy were taken from me in exchange for a body; a body that was taken in exchange for a failed human transmutation…a body that still existed in the in-between. So, I figured, if the body was still there, why can't my alchemy and gate still be there as well?"

Izumi's eyebrows shot up at this, for the first time since Edward had known her looking shocked. "Impossible. You would have to have a gate in your possession in the first place to even _explore _that theory."

Edward's gaze that was locked on hers moved over slowly to his younger brother beside him who refused to meet anyone's eyes.

Edward continued quietly, "When I told Al of my idea, he refused adamantly, but I pushed him until he listened—just like I did with our mom."

"Brother— "Alphonse began, but was quieted with a wave of Edward's hand and a small smile.

"I convinced Al to open his gate for me and in the split second that it took for the black tendrils to try and grab him, I shoved him away and went in his place. That's when I met Truth once again." Edward's tone turned bitter but he continued on. "He asked me how I'd gotten there; apparently that had never happened before." He smirked, taking another pause.

"I refused to tell him how I did it—afraid that he would take away Al's gate as a toll for getting mine back. After a while, I'm sure he got tired of me, but I was relentless, offering up what I could think of that would only affect me, but he shot down every one. Then, when I was about to give up, that creepy ass thing smiled at me." Edward continued, shuddering at the thought.

"What was his price?" Izumi asked darkly, not liking where this was going.

"Well, that's where it gets confusing." Ed said, glancing at Al who nodded in agreement.

"Truth stood up and moved his hand in front of us, as if there was an invisible wall there and what looked like a door made of complete shadows and a golden lock was holding it closed appeared gradually. He asked me I knew why there was a lock on the door, and when I answered no, all he did was smile and chuckle." Edward's eyebrow furrowed in confusion, but shrugged and went on.

"The thing touched the lock and turned to me, saying that the lock was the only thing he wanted in exchange for my gate. I knew he wasn't telling me everything, so I asked him just who's gate it was; it was completely different from mine. His only answer was that it was another alchemist's, but removing the lock would only enhance their alchemy like me."

"Oh, Ed…" Izumi breathed quietly, shaking her head.

"I know I should have thought about it longer, but Al was growing tired and my exit kept getting smaller and smaller, so I took the deal. Truth knocked the lock off and nothing happened, except that my gate appeared. And…here I am." He said guiltily.

Silence engulfed the room and Izumi banged her head on the table once on the table and left it there. Ed and Al jumped in surprise and Sig placed a comforting hand on her back.

"You idiot." Izumi mumbled against the unforgiving wooden table.

"What?" Edward asked haughtily; mildly offended.

Izumi picked her head off the table and looked in his golden eyes to make sure that he was paying attention. "That gate _was _another alchemist's gate, but no one like yours or mine."

Alphonse was just as shocked as his brother and turned a questioning gaze to their teacher. "What do you mean? I already know that…it was all black like it was in shadows." He said warily.

Izumi closed her eyes. "I mean that it was locked for a reason we as normal alchemists can't understand. It was locked to keep something _out _not _in_. It was a shadow alchemist's gate, Edward. And you just allowed in that which they fear the most; the Seikatsu no Yami."

When she looked at the brothers, both looked slightly scared and remorseful, but mostly just downright confused.

Izumi sighed, "You need to go see one of my acquaintances from my past. His name is Maddox, and he will tell you all there is to know about shadow alchemy…and all about what you have just caused."

X

x

X

**Hanashi o suru****: Sorry! I beat you to the punch with that one, lol but thank you so much for reviewing!**

**Usagi0Mori: Have a great time on your vacation and enjoy the sun and beach! Also, thanks for reviewing, it means a lot. **

**I hope you guys liked my take on things having to do with Edward's alchemy, let me know. **

**And ooohhhh Everett! You're so beautiful, why are you so mean to poor Gray? **


	6. Chapter 6: The Shadows Strike Back

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters but Gray and her crew.**

**Chapter Six: The Shadows Strike Back **

Black and red.

That's all she could see.

Black sky, charred trees, red fire, crimson blood.

Winry quivered as she glanced at her feet to identify the squishing sound she heard as her stance shifted. Her blue eyes widened at the sight of the bloody entrails her flip-flops were situated on and bit her lip to keep from crying.

Lifting her head from the gruesome human remains, Winry began to wander aimlessly in one direction; trying to ignore the disturbing wetness climbing onto her bare foot. Upon closer inspection of the blackened trees, Winry realized that they were organic in the most twisted way possible—they were human bones, burned to the point of being coal black.

Winry's breath became shallow as she spun in circles, trying to find a way out of the endless flat sea of death when a voice halted her frantic searching.

"Winry Rockbell."

She turned on her heel, trying to locate the face and body of the man speaking her name. "Where are you? What happened to me?" Winry gasped, eyes bulging.

The voice chuckled. "Ah. Well Winry, I do not have much time, so I will only answer questions that are relevant to me. For the sake of being hospitable, however, I will vaguely answer you."

Winry wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep warm in this god-forsaken place and continued to look around.

"You will not physically find me here; this is all in your head. Thanks to you opening my little gift and through the help of another naïve human, my children have the freedom to play with your world once again."

The ground trembled and Winry lost her footing. She grabbed onto the closest solid object to prevent the fall into the warm, bloody mess beneath her feet. The blood cleared and Winry looked down at the scene it presented.

Gray had rushed to Winry's side and was currently leaning over her unconscious form to keep the shadows from mauling her body and was being sliced mercilessly instead. The image flashed over to Everett trying to beat his way into the crowd to Gray, buy was losing ground instead of gaining it.

Tears sprang to her eyes and she hollered into the blackened sky, "Stop! Stop,please! They'll die!"

"That's the point, my dear." Was its answer, coming loudly from directly behind her. She swung around to see a man cloaked in swirling shadows, giving no hint of his face or body beneath them. He sat, cross legged, as if meditating, and Winry felt the urge to sprint as fast and as far away from this creature, but forced herself to stay rooted to the spot.

"Please stop. They've done nothing to you; this is all my fault!" She whimpered. There was no response from the hooded man and Winry turned back to the struggle happening in the pool of blood.

Shadows leapt everywhere, and every time one of them tried to hit Winry, Gray's body or a wall of shadow blocked their movement. As soon as Winry had turned around, Gray shouted in pain as one landed a gash to her back, causing her to kneel momentarily and regain her breath.

Winry gasped as one of them came dangerously close to stabbing her through the heart while she was down, but Gray lunged forward with her shadow sword, slicing the monster to pieces.

Everett had his fair share of cuts and bruises, but not nearly to the extent of Gray. Guilt pricked in Winry's body. If they didn't have to protect her, Gray would be doing just as well as Everett right now, instead of being close to death like she was. Everett probably would have no markings if he was more focused on his battle instead of her and Gray.

"It's a pity, really. She could have been so much more alongside her brother." He commented remorsefully.

Winry faced him once again, opening her mouth to question his knowledge of Gray and Silas, but decided that she'd wasted enough time with him. Trying to block out the cries of pain and curses of frustration from Everett; she focused on attempting to save them.

"You…you're the Seikatsu no Yami?" Winry whispered.

"Yes." It hissed, "A very small part of it."

Winry blinked in confusion, but forced herself to concentrate. Gray and Everett would both die if she didn't do something fast. "What do you want from me?"

It gathered its robes of shadows and stood before her, towering over her shiny blond hair by many feet. "Now, there is a question I would love to answer."

He drifted in silence over to the other edge of the pool displaying her teacher's losing battle and waved his cloth covered hand, causing ripples to change the scene. A black door was seen with a broken and discarded golden lock sitting in front of it.

"This is your gate, Winry." He said by way of explaining.

She shook her head. "To what?"

The thing hissed out another chuckle. "With all of these questions, you'll never get to your friends in time." Before Winry could respond with a good _screw you _on her lips, he continued. "You are a childhood friend of the Elric brothers, correct?"

Winry stiffened at the mention of the boys and inwardly screamed in frustration.

_How does he know so much?_

Taking her silence as an affirmative, he went on. "You are aware of alchemy gates through their knowledge then, but our gates and theirs are extremely different. That is not important, however. What interests you and I concerns the fact that your door has already been unlocked. Now all you must do is open the doors to reveal your true potential, Winry."

Said girl narrowed her eyes. Winry was many things—loud, a gear head, demanding—but she was not stupid. "And why was that lock placed there in the first place?"

"To keep you from your true potential, of course! They knew as soon as you took your first breath that you would be powerful. Even more powerful that Gray and Everett combined. They wanted to take that from you—keep you from becoming your own person. Keeping you from protecting those you love."

Winry stayed carefully quiet, mulling over his words.

"Imagine. Your mother and father still alive and well. Edward and Alphonse living happily—never having had to go on their journey to restore their bodies because you saved them. That future was stolen from you, Winry. A future with Edward home every night to kiss your children goodnight and be a good father to and husband."

The man swept up beside her, glancing at her glassy blue eyes as she replayed his words in her head. "The shadows will leave Gray and Everett alive and well?" She questioned dazedly.

"Yes." He promised. "I cannot change your past, Winry. But I can assure you that your future will be exactly how you want it." He said softly.

"All you have to do is open your gate."

Visions of herself in Edwards open arms, little children running around them-a carefree and loving family. Her mother and father as grandparents, spoiling their children and showering them with love. Al's eyes gleaming as they had when they were children; blissfully ignorant of the troubles of the world.

Winry let out a blissful sigh.

"What do you say, my dear?" It asked, extending his hand toward her.

XxX

_I'm going to die. _

Another blade chewed through her skin with deadly accuracy as her shield was broken through once again.

Gray half-heartily swung out with her sword to destroy yet another countless shadow and was easily blocked. Her blood stained the grass red and her mind began to feel foggy. Gray distantly heard Everett calling her name, but she knew that she was too far gone to answer.

Bending over Winry was proving more and more difficult as her blood loss continued and her shadows were becoming slow and equally as weak. Coughing up blood, she blocked another assault to Winry's head and didn't notice the monster grabbing for her thigh. A searing pain rippled through her body as it suck it's dagger through her thigh and she dropped to her hands and knees.

"Gray!" She heard Everett shout in warning, but could not respond. Looking up, she saw a giant shadow tower over her with its hammer reared back to crush her skull.

Her body felt like lead; she couldn't move and her shadows were busy being smashed around Winry's body to be of any help.

Gray closed her eyes against the setting sun and made peace with death.

The hammer swung down.

XxX

The horde of shadows was never ending it seemed as Everett sliced through yet another one and glanced at Gray hunched over Winry's limp form. He once again tried to send his shadows over to assist in her defenses, but his concentration was shattered by another elbow in the back.

Spinning around, his double edged spear made contact with the offending shadow and Everett quickly covered his back with a wall of solid matter, ducking out of the way of another attack and taking down two more.

Taking advantage of this temporary reprieve, Everett turned to check on Gray and his eyes widened in horror. She dropped to her knees and her arms reached out to catch her body before her face could hit the ground. With her head bent down, she could have no idea of the monstrosity of a shadow wielding a hammer standing in front of her.

"Gray!" He shouted, trying furiously to get to her, gaining even more cuts and broken bones, but he didn't care—she was too precious to him. Without glancing in his direction, the red-headed woman looked up at the figure and presumably accepting her feet, closed her eyes against the attack.

_No. No no no no. Not her! Not Gray! _Everett thought furiously, shoving, stabbing and kill anything in his way to get to her.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

Everett dug deep inside his pocket, reaching for the small baggie of black powder and silently prayed that it would work and not kill them all.

Disintegrating his spear, he used the friction from the tree Winry leaned against and lit a match. Everett dove to cover Winry and lit the bag from the top to try and buy some time as it burned away at the cloth, throwing it up and over the shadow wielding the hammer. Shooting his shadows out in the brief seconds before the explosion, he created a wall in front of Gray and a bubble over his and Winry's body.

Blue eyes met with green at the last second.

The world erupted into flames.

**Normal POV**

Edward's eye twitched in annoyance at Izumi. "Shadow alchemy." He deadpanned.

The golden eyed boy crossed his arms and scoffed inwardly. "Teacher, I mean no disrespect but that sounds like some old wives tale told to children at bedtime to keep them in line. Al and I must have read every book on alchemy, and none of them mentioned that."

Izumi chunked her tea mug directly at Edward's head, which he easily dodged. "That's why I'm sending you to Maddox, you arrogant idiot. Those books are not allowed in any type of library; only actual shadow alchemists have a select few from their masters. They wouldn't even think about it ever since what happened with the alchemists like us trying to use transmutation the way they do."

Alphonse spoke up, leaning on the table eagerly. "Who is Maddox, Teacher?"

Izumi glanced at Sig and he quickly got the message, closing the shop and windows before shutting the door behind him, leaving the boys and Izumi to themselves.

"I did not always live here, you know. I had a life before you two came along." She scoffed. "I'll give you the condensed version of my experience, but you can ask Maddox more when you see him. He used to live in a small village a short distance away from the city I inhabited at the time. I wanted to explore his village and get to know the people—they looked and behaved quite differently from what I expected. However, when I was within a few feet of the village, I was almost killed on sight." Izumi smiled fondly at the memory.

"It was pure luck that Maddox got there when he did and recognized me as an alchemist meaning no harm. He invited me inside the black gates and explained that it was not simply a village, but a sort of training safe haven for what they call Yami Kontotra, the shadow controllers." She lifted herself off the cushion and walked out of the room and came back with a small box in her hands.

"When you arrive there, it is imperative that you show them what's inside here. Maddox gave it to me to insure I was let in after the night my city was destroyed…" Izumi trailed off, a far-off look in her eyes.

Edward cleared his throat. "Um, Teacher?"

Izumi blinked and snapped back to attention, handing Edward the box. "Don't open it until you're at the gate. Now," she said, clasping her hands together, "let's test out that new alchemy of yours, Ed. I hope you haven't been slacking off any more than usual, for your sake. Alphonse and I will be on a team and you're on your own."

Pocketing the box, Edward looked at his teacher with large eyes, "That's not fair! You'll purposely kick my ass!" He said, leaping to his feet and shaking his fist at her.

Izumi merely smirked and grabbed Alphonse's arm, hauling him off the ground. "That's what you get for being so rash and making stupid decisions!" She sang, leaving out the door.

Grumbling and whining to himself, Edward followed shortly after.

XxX

"Brother! Brother, we need to get going if we're going to catch the train!" Alphonse yelled for the umpteenth time that morning, shaking his brother ruthlessly.

Edward groaned and slapped away his hands, pulling the sheet up and slamming the pillow over his head. "Maybe if you and that _woman _hadn't beaten the crap out of me yesterday, I would already be up." He said grouchily, his voice muffled by the pillow.

Alphonse rolled his eyes and sighed quietly. He was being such a crybaby at the moment. Feeling a wicked grin creep on to his face, Al slowly crept out of the room and came back with a bucket of water.

He saw Edward tense under the sheet a second too late.

His younger brother yanked the sheet completely off the bed; twisting it so Edward ended up on the floor. Before the Fullmetal Alchemist could react, freezing water was poured over his entire body and the wooden bucket crashed on his face.

Alphonse laughed hysterically and ran out of the room, quickly followed by a completely drenched Edward, clad in only his boxers.

Izumi left the kitchen with her morning coffee at the precise moment that Al sped out of the house still laughing and Edward raced by seconds later, changing the wooden bucket into a small spear on the way.

"I'm going to kill you Alphonse!" Edward screamed, running through the streets waving around his spear as Alphonse merely laughed harder and hightailed it.

XxX

Edward lagged behind Alphonse in the train station, attempting to be as incognito as possible while plotting his revenge.

When they finally arrived at the ticket booth, there was a pretty young girl sitting behind the glass and Edward felt a wicked grin appear on his face. As soon as Alphonse was reaching for the tickets, Ed stilled his hand and leaned towards him, stage whispering so the woman could hear him.

"Why don't you tell her how much you like her? You kept pestering me about her in the line all the way up here, Alphonse. Just ask her for her number already." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"I—I what? Brother, he—I mean, she—uh…uh…" Al stuttered, blushing profusely.

"Don't be silly, ALPHONSE ELRIC, your lust for this ticket booth lady is beautiful!" Edward shouted, the entire crowd turning their gaze on them. "Shout your love from the rooftops! Have little Elric babies—!"

Alphonse clamped his hand over his brother's mouth, beet red. "Brother!" He squeaked.

Edward grabbed the tickets and ran laughing towards the platform, leaving Alphonse stuttering an apology to the young woman who only nodded and smiled oddly as she reached for the phone.

When the boy finally ran after his brother, the woman dialed a number and pressed the phone to her ear.

"Sir. I've found them."

XxX

Edward sat, arms crossed, across from his younger brother on the train they barely caught, still damp from Alphonse's little impromptu shower that morning.

The younger Elric mimicked the other's position, but could not hold the charade for long and chuckled periodically when he caught a glance at the death glare Edward was giving him.

"I blame you, Al." Edward said stubbornly, looking out the window and remembering this morning's embarrassing events.

Edward was yelled at and almost arrested due to public indecency and wielding a weapon while shouting threats at Alphonse. Only when he flashed his state alchemist watch did the police let him go, but not before they'd gathered a crowd. A crowd that saw him in only his polka dot boxers.

Alphonse chucked, "Hey, you're the one who decided to run out there in the middle of the street in only your boxers, brother. And besides, you got your revenge." He added stubbornly.

Edward smirked and was about to respond when the train began to slow down. Frowning to himself, he glanced out the window only to be met with Central station. Narrowing his eyes, Edward gestured to Alphonse to follow him quietly.

The boys slipped out of their seats silently and glanced down the aisle to the closed trolley door at the end.

Sneaking up to the door, Edward transformed a nearby pot to form a small dagger. Nodding, Alphonse put his back against the wall and Edward kicked in the door, preparing for an attack.

Edwards jaw fell slack as he observed the almost entirely empty cart in front of him. Almost. Because there were three lone figures blocking his way five feet in front of him.

"Brother? What's the—oh." Alphonse stopped, staring at the group in front of them.

After a few seconds of tense silence, Edward recovered first, pointing accusingly at the man directly in front of him. "Just WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE, COLONEL?"

"It's general now, pipsqueak." Roy replied through his teeth.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK, MR.I'M- USELESS-IN- RAIN?" Edward yelled, beginning to charge Roy, who had developed an eye twitch as the sentence crossed the boy's lips.

"EDWARD AND ALPHONSE ELRIC! YOUR ABSENCE HAS BEEN MOST UNWELCOME AT CENTRAL!" Armstrong shouted, shedding his shirt, crying and grabbing both boys in a headlock.

"…can't…breathe…" Alphonse choked out.

Riza cleared her throat, elbowing Mustang in the side. "Sir, we have other business to attend to and I'm quite certain that the conductor does not appreciate being stopped like this."

Roy nodded once,"Alphonse, Fullmetal." He started, glancing at their hunched figures gasping for air. "I've heard some…interesting news."

Edward lifted himself up, gaining control of his breath, "That doesn't sound like my problem, _**colonel." **_He snidely commented.

Riza heard Roy's teeth click in frustration, and before another verbal argument could ensue, she got down to business. "We need you two to come with us. We have some things to discuss." With that, she spun around and marched out of the train.

Smirking like a madman, Roy muttered under his breath, "Microscopic flea." And dashed out of the cart, seeking refuge with Riza before Edward could retaliate.

X

x

X

**Thank you to viper's fang, AndJusticeForMe, Hanashi o suru, All-the-stuff-I-like, Usagi0Mori, .39, Itachi26, and EdxWinryFan26 for reviewing! **

**ALSO I know that this is a romantic fic and there WILL BE ROMANCE. Just give me time to work up to it (:**

**I couldn't help but throw in some brotherly teasing as well between the Elrics, hope it lightened the grim mood on Winry's end of the story! **

**Did anyone else notice my Star Wars reference in the title? ;) **

**Please Review! **


	7. Chapter 7: Decisions, Decisions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist but I do own Gray and her crew with Shadow Alchemy!**

**Chapter Seven: Decisions, Decisions**

Winry squeezed her eyes shut against the bright and deafening blast and clung to Everett's shirt. The ground shook with whatever it was that was happening and the blond girl glanced around frantically, searching for her missing and most likely badly wounded teacher. Her vision was obscured suddenly by Everett's dirt covered face. His lips were moving, but the ringing in her ears prevented her from making out what he was saying.

Winry sat up, a confused look on her face and looked around the field, taking in the charred grass and smoke billowing in the gentle breeze. She flipped her legs under her to stand and get an easier view; Everett following her movements with his hands hovering nearby to catch her if she toppled over.

"…okay?" She heard Everett ask distantly.

"What?" She croaked, peering at him and rubbing her ears, glad that some sound was finally getting through the ringing in her head.

"Are you okay?" He asked slowly, probably for the umpteenth time seeing as how his voice held a twinge of frustration. His green eyes scanned the area around them and noticed that Gray wasn't where he had previously set his shadow shield in front of her, but that the grass there was untouched by the fire around it.

Winry nodded mutely and Everett immediately walked away from her, marching towards the spot that he had last seen his childhood friend. The blond haired girl shakily made her way away from the tree in the opposite direction of the focused man and heard a slight crunching under her shoe.

With a pained expression marring her face, she warily looked down and scowled at the now-black paper staring back up at her. Bending down, she picked it up, but frowned deeper when as soon as she touched it, it lit up. Winry peered at it closer and with a small gasp realized that her own name was slowly being signed in red ink on the bottom of the page. Everett glanced behind him at the sudden noise Winry made and she quickly whipped the letter behind her back and looked at him with a nervous smile.

He narrowed his eyes at her but shook his head and went back to searching, making a mental note to pester her about her strange behavior later. Winry let out a puff of relieved air and took the letter out, glaring accusingly at it and watched as her name faded and the paper disintegrated into ash, leaving no evidence of her betrayal behind.

Deciding to let the guilt eat at her later, Winry squinted in the direction the ashes of the letter drifted for a moment when a slash of red pierced the swaying grass as it moved slightly. Blue eyes widened as she frantically looked around for Everett to tell him. "Everett!" She pushed through her throat, past the lump that had developed as the dread churned through her gut.

Everett whipped his head over to her as he noted the frantic state she was in and away from the giant crater he was currently inspecting. Winry pointed a shaky finger towards the tall grass and watched as he dashed over to Gray's form.

Winry stared as the red headed woman lifted herself off of the ground on the palms of her hands shakily, looking around in shock and attempting to stay up but failing miserably. The girl slowly made her way over to her teacher's side as Everett slid on his knees to catch her before she collapsed on the grass again.

"I'm alright. I'm alright." She heard Gray insist as she pushed at his chest, trying to prevent him from picking her up bridal style.

Giving her a sour look as he promptly ignored her feeble attempts at freedom; he picked her up and carried her towards the house. "You're _not _alright, dumb woman. You're all cut up—you should have bled out by now."

"So sorry to disappoint you." She grumbled sarcastically as he entered the door of the house. Gray suddenly whipped her head around the house and sat up in Everett's arms to look around. "Where's Winry?" She demanded.

He jerked his head behind them as he climbed the stairs to her room and grey eyes peeked over his broad shoulder to glare accusingly at the sheepish blond haired girl behind them.

"We will have words later, Ms. Rockbell." Gray growled. "For now, do _not _under any circumstances leave this house or use shadow alchemy and do not leave Everett's sight. Am I understood?"

Winry nodded vigorously, afraid of her teacher's wrath but pushed those feelings aside and replaced them for worry for Gray as she sucked in a choked breath and grabbed Everett's shirt, coughing blood and closing her eyes. He looked at her in desperation and laid her on the bed tenderly.

He moved to grab her desk chair to sit in next to the bed and pulled out a first-aid kit from under her dresser, but Gray shook her head roughly against the white pillows under her. At his questioning glance, Gray sighed and looked down at herself. She was covered in cuts and she had so many broken bones that she'd lost count. Her head was throbbing and she struggled to keep her eyes open against the stares of the other two people in the room. The stab wound in her thigh was bleeding profusely all over the bed and couldn't help the distant voice in her mind that cursed Everett for ruining her clean mattress.

All in all, she felt like a giant human punching bag that had been dragged through the streets during a hailstorm and wanted nothing more than to give in and let Everett patch her up, but she couldn't let him. If she did, she would be bedridden and healing for months and they just didn't have that much time to not be doing anything and not getting anything done. Gray had to get Winry to Maddox as soon as possible, but even if she wasn't injured they couldn't leave—Winry wouldn't be able to hold her own against the other's around her age in the village.

Which really only left her with one very painful, very dangerous option. It was a risk. But if it worked, she'd be back to normal in a day and she and Everett could take watches for the Seikatsu no Yami and train Winry so they could get out of there as soon as possible.

"No. You two should leave the room." Gray held her bloodied hand up to stop their protests and continued. "I have to do something dangerous if you don't want me to die, and I can't have you both fretting over me when I'm trying to focus. You're lucky I don't send you both on the first train out of here."

Everett scowled and crossed his arms, glaring at her, which she easily returned.

"Die?" Winry whispered from the doorway.

Everett gave Gray a look from his holier-than-thou position and mouthed _good job _sarcastically.

Gray felt a slight pang of guilt at the little white lie, but quickly smothered it by reminding herself of the reason why she was currently in that position. This brought up the question as to why exactly she _was_ lying in blood covered sheets at the moment. The dread in her stomach churned at the probable possibility that her only student had disobeyed her most important rule.

Plus, if they kept stalling and standing around while she kept bleeding, she _would_ die, or at least go into shock. Gray nodded solemnly at the young girl and watched in mild surprise as Winry's eyes filled with tears and ran away as she yelled, "I'm so sorry!"

After they heard her feet pound down the hallway and her bedroom door slam shut, Gray sighed and looked at Everett's tense form. Bitterness filled her mouth and she looked away from him, refusing to feel sympathetic for dragging him into this mess, reminding herself of the words he spoke earlier. "I'm not going to betray the Yami Kontorora, Everett. Contrary to what you think, I _know _whose side I'm on."

She felt Everett's eyes on her as he opened his mouth, an apology on his lips, when her weary sigh cut him off. "Just leave me be, Ev. Don't come back in here until tomorrow night, no matter what you may hear."

Instead of heeding her words, he did the exact opposite of what she asked and bent down, capturing her shoulders between his powerful arms, resting his hands on her pillow. "Gray…you know I didn't mean it to come out that way. I'm sorry—it wasn't fair of me to say it. You know I trust you." He whispered quietly, tenderly pushing away a lock of red hair out of her face.

Grey eyes looked up at him as they became teary and she reached up to comb her fingers through his brown hair, causing Everett to close his eyes and smile slightly in content, "I know you didn't. And it shouldn't still make my heart pull itself apart on a scar, but it does." she replied.

"Let me help you heal again, Gray."

He opened his eyes, a question clearly swimming in their green depths and she tugged on his hair, pulling him closer and answering without words. Everett bent his elbows and rested his forearms on the mattress, pressing his lips softly against hers. Gray twined her hands through his hair, relishing in the familiarity of the soft strands and allowed the warmth to spread through her body after being away from his touch for so long.

He simply enjoyed the feel of her slender body under his as he placed his knee between her legs and leaned over her protectively, pushing aside his doubt from years ago. Everett could taste the slight hint of blood on her lips and licked it away tenderly, causing her to open her mouth and deepen the kiss, tossing his tongue with hers. They had been robbed of their time together for so long, and her near-death today made him realize how much he still cared about her. All of their emotions were overflowing and things were quickly getting out of hand until Gray pulled away and looked at him with glazed eyes.

Everett moved away gently and ran a hand through her hair once again before kissing her forehead and standing up. He walked towards the door and paused with his hand on the knob, turning around slightly, before closing it softly. "I missed you, Gray."

Gray stared at the closed door curiously and strained to hear his quiet footsteps retreat down the stairs and took a deep breath, closing her eyes to focus her mind and call her shadows with what was left of her energy.

XxX

Winry watched as Everett paced the kitchen and glanced at the clock once again. It was now six o'clock at night—one full day after Gray had ordered them away and the two had been in practically the same position the entire time. With no sleep, both Everett and Winry looked worse for wear. With the guilt eating at her and past chances lost haunting him, they looked like walking zombies. The blonde girl had long since given up on trying to convince the stubborn man to go outside and away from the occasional whimper or scream from upstairs.

Everett would just glare at her, remind her that she wasn't supposed to be out of his sight, and continue to pace and cringe at every pained noise from Gray.

Tired blue eyes fell on the window outside as the rain slid down the glass and she let her mind wander off to her two blonde knuckleheads and wondered if they missed her as much as she did them. Edward's determined face invaded her mind again as she remembered his last words to her before boarding the train those two years ago.

_"Don't worry, Winry. We'll come back—we always do." _

No hugs, no comfort for her tears, just a large smile and a swish of his blonde ponytail as he turned around. All she had wanted to do in that moment was grab him by said ponytail and bash him on the head with a wrench until he understood her feelings for him.

No matter how many subtle hints she threw his way while Edward stayed with them before his newest adventure, the idiot just would not let it get through his thick skull that she had feelings for him. It had infuriated her at first, but that anger slowly melted away, leaving only doubt and worry. Wondering if he ever did, or ever would care for her as more than just a friend or mechanic.

Winry knew that she felt differently for him; she loved Alphonse, but not in the same way that she loved Edward. Whenever he would even walk into a room, she would have a warm feeling in her chest that would spread throughout her entire body and fill her with happiness that he was there. Even when he would arrive with her precious automail torn to bits and his body beat up beyond belief, she would forgive him as soon as she set eyes on him.

But what if she didn't want him to come home anymore?

Winry's face clouded with shame and the hard pelts of rain slammed on the roof and ran down the window she looked through at a ridiculously fast speed.

What if he came home and wasn't content with her anymore?

A thought rocked through the blonde girl, rattling her almost as much as the clap of thunder outside.

What if he came back—but with another woman?

Her inner wail of despair was cut short as Everett snapped his head toward her and cocked his head to the side. "Did you hear that?"

"The rain?" She asked dumbly, still encased in her thoughts.

He scowled at her and pressed a finger to his lips and pointed up with the other hand towards Gray's room. Winry quieted her thoughts and focused on the upstairs room.

Absolute silence.

Winry frantically looked at Everett; panic set into her eyes as she lifted herself off the counter seat she'd been perched on and followed him up the stairs quietly. The brunette man paused momentarily at Gray's door and turned to Winry, motioning her to stay there, and ignored her angry scrunched up face.

Everett slowly pushed the door open, searching the dark room for the red-headed woman. With no light seeping through the closed curtains, he strained his eyes to see where the bed was supposed to be and growled in frustration—he couldn't see _anything. _

Bracing himself for her wrath, he flicked the lights on.

Everett immediately jogged to the side of her bed where she lay, her back to the door, curled into a small, loose ball. Slowly, he sank on the side of her blood-stained bed, trying not to jostle her too much and laid a hand on her small waist tentatively.

Her soft breathing and the slight rise and fall of her chest could be felt under his hand and he breathed a sigh of relief. Everett saw Winry poking her head through the open doorway and nodded, smiling what he hoped to be a reassuring smile and hoping that she would go away and spare herself the image of Gray in such a state.

The young girl surprised him by tip toeing into the room and steadily matching his gaze when she suggested quietly, "I can clean her up while you fix up her room for her. Don't worry; I know what I'm doing. I'm used to doing automail repairs and attachments, so I've seen worse."

Everett frowned slightly. He knew he was being selfish, but he didn't want to move her even if it meant her sleeping in that filthy bed. However, common sense won over and caused him to nod grudgingly and pick up her limp and unconscious form, hauling her to the bathroom and placing her in the tub gently.

Everett marched past Winry and slammed the door behind him. Winry scowled and glared at the door for a moment; wondering what the hell his problem was.

The blonde girl shrugged it off and knelt by the tub, warming the water while she carefully pulled Gray's clothes off her pale skin. The red head's eyes fluttered open and Winry placed a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, Gray. It's just me—I'm gonna get you cleaned up." She said brightly and watched as the older woman's eyes slid shut in exhaustion.

Winry sighed and pulled off the remaining clothes as the tub slowly filled with water. Grabbing a rag with her free hand, she pulled it across her teacher's arms and gasped; there was not one scar on her entire body.

After she'd completed her front, the young girl leaned Gray forward slightly and rubbed her back when a marking high in her left thigh caught her attention. She swiped at it with the rag but like she suspected, it didn't go away. Winry quickly washed Gray's hair and rinsed it with clean water; draining the tub and wrapping her in a black robe she found hanging next to the shower before inspecting it closer.

The colorful tattoo wrapped twice around her upper left thigh, spreading its feathered tail around her leg. It was a bird, Winry realized…a phoenix! The wings were only open slightly as if drifting in flight and the eyes were closed, which Winry thought was incredibly odd. The blonde girl went to cover her leg again and call Everett when it opened its eyes and stretched its wings.

It _**moved.**_

__Winry let out a loud screech and heard a thud from just outside the door. She scrambled backwards on her hands and feet in a backwards crawl and the door swung open behind her.

"What? What happened?" Everett asked, glancing around the room, panting slightly with his shadows held at the ready.

__"T-th-the tat-t-too—leg—it moved!" She stuttered, pointing at Gray's limp form in the tub.

The man sighed and smiled slightly, retracting his shadows and moving past Winry who was still sprawled on the floor and bent to pick Gray up gently, careful not to let her robe fall open.

Winry stood and followed Everett into Gray's bedroom where he set her on the now-clean bed and motioned for her to come with him out the door. He closed the door when they cleared it and leaned against the wall next to it, crossing his arms. Winry could see how tired he was by the bags under his eyes and the frustration he held in by the set of his mouth.

"You don't have to explain it right now…" She trailed off. _Even though it would drive me crazy all night and probably keep me up. _Winry tacked on to the end in her mind.

Everett glanced at Gray's door in longing—like he wished that he didn't have to be the one to explain it or that he wanted to be anywhere but there at that precise moment. After a long pause, Winry turned to go to her room when his rough voice stopped her.

"It's not really my place to tell. Not her part. But I can give you the condensed reason. We all have them. The Yami Kontorora, I mean. The women get the phoenix; each part if the body means something different. The head represents virtue, the wing duty, the back propriety, the abdomen justice, and the chest mercy. They are meant as graceful and beautiful—the yin and the males make up the yang. The tattoos are in the same place, but we as the men have a dragon instead of the phoenix on the right thigh; we are perceived as powerful, protective, courageous, strong willed, and fearsome—the most valiant defender. When we reach a certain age and point of achievement, we all get the same tattoo—it shows what we are, but people rarely know the reason behind them and fear them which is why they're hidden on our thighs."

Winry stood pondering this and Everett watched her closely for a reaction. Her eyebrows scrunched together and she bit her lip. "Does yours move too?"

He ran his hands through his shaggy hair and shook his head in exasperation, closing his eyes. "Hers moves because of her contact with the Seikatsu no Yami. That's really all I can tell you. I know when it does move, it used to be painful when we were younger, but it's been a long time since I've…seen her." He said, faltering towards the end of his sentence and looking at the ground.

"But don't worry—the only way for a Yami Kontorora's tattoo to come to life is by using the shadows for purposes other than what we represent or to cut a deal with the Seikatsu no Yami, which you've done neither of." He eyed her wide eyes and paling skin. "Right?"

Winry nodded stiffly. "So I could get the tattoo when I'm ready?"

"Yes."

"And…it wouldn't matter if you had no tattoo before? It…would still move if...?" Winry asked quietly with downcast eyes.

Everett narrowed his eyes and grabbed her by the shoulders, leaning down to try and catch her teary blue gaze.

"What did you do?" He demanded.

**Normal POV:**

A folder slapped down in front of Edward on Roy's desk and he looked at it with a bored expression. The blonde haired boy leaned back in his chair, balancing it on the back legs and Alphonse gave him a disapproving look before leaning forward and taking the collected pieces of paper, opening and scanning them.

"We don't know his name and all we have is one description from a surviving man from an annihilated squad, but this man is extremely dangerous. I have never encountered alchemy like this before; there are no natural elements on the periodic table to break it down into." Mustang explained.

Edward sat up, meeting Mustang's gaze, "Where is the survivor?" he asked, already getting up to go question the man.

"Dead." Roy replied bluntly. "He was practically torn to bits. No arm, his ears were gone, and some of his organs were missing—they were just gone. No cuts on his body, no internal injury and no disease to explain the occurrence. It's a wonder he even managed to get himself to a phone to tell us."

Edward swallowed thickly and looked at the papers alongside his brother, "You think it's shadow alchemy, Al?" He asked quietly. Al nodded and placed the thin folder back on the desk.

"Honestly, I don't know why they had me call _both _of the Elric brothers. Seeing as one is…defective." He continued with a smirk.

"I AM NOT!" Edward shouted standing and knocking over the chair before he realized what he'd just said. Roy raised a mockingly surprised eyebrow and leaned back in his chair; pressing his hands together.

"Well…I…what I mean is…" He mumbled while Alphonse put his head in his hand.

"What you mean is that, somehow, you have once again obtained your alchemy. I don't know how and for the moment, I don't care. What I do care about is making sure that this man and his, what you call shadow alchemy, is stopped." Roy gruffly said, standing, and the boys did the same. "Anyone who performs this alchemy is to be considered dangerous and arrested or killed immediately. You are to find this man and his accomplice alchemists, gathering any information on them as you do so."

"We already have a lead and we were on our way there before you so rudely stopped the train." Edward sneered.

_We have to kill them? _Alphonse pondered worriedly. He didn't like that idea. They couldn't all be murderers. To condemn the innocents along with the guilty just wasn't right.

Mustang growled, but quit when the doors to his office opened, revealing Riza marching towards the two boys and tossed them both bags of money. "Your salary." She explained to their confused faces. "Welcome back to serving he state. I take it you three have come to an agreement?"

The three men looked at each other and Edward finally sighed dramatically and nodded, glaring at Roy who smiled victoriously.

"Good. Then I suggest you be on your way wherever you were going as soon as possible. No need to garner any more attention than you already have. The less people that know about your returning alchemy, the better. "

Edward was puzzled, "How did you know that?"

Ignoring him completely, Riza continued, "Non-alchemists will want to question you about how you did it, and then try to mimic it. _That _would be chaos. So, I suggest that you keep your mouth _shut_—especially in Central. Now get going and be careful."

The door closed behind her with a final boom.

XxX

"A red headed white male, huh? Well, _that _helps us a lot." Edward drawled sarcastically as he glanced over the files and information on the train.

They were once again on their way to the main town Izumi had told them about. The boys would have to gather supplies and information there and then walk the rest of the way using a rough hand-drawn map to the Yami Kontorora's village. Whatever it was that was in the box their teacher had handed Edward was tucked safely inside his white trench coat jacket where it would stay until they reached the gates.

"It's better than nothing, brother." Al responded.

Edward sighed, "I know, I know." He looked at his younger brother warily, "Hey, what's been eating you lately? Ever since we got away from Mustang, you've been acting strange, Al. Did that asshole say something about me when I wasn't around? What was it? What did he say?!" He demanded, getting progressively louder.

"It's not that, brother. He didn't say anything about you, calm down!" He said, chuckling slightly. "It's just…usually, every time we would come home from Central after being away so long, we would go and see Winry…and we're not."

Edward visibly slumped on the bench and looked out the window. "I know, Al. I miss her too. But like you said, she's not there right now and she wouldn't want us doing nothing while we could be helping others."

Al nodded sadly, and to distract himself, asked Edward what they were planning on doing when they got to the large town. The elder Elric answered robotically, ticking off ideas with his fingers, but his mind was elsewhere.

Winry had occupied his thoughts constantly the seven months she'd been away. He knew that he had no real room to worry; he was now in what used to be her shoes for the past seven years with him as a state alchemist.

Flashes of her being sad or lonely over the past two years they'd been gone chewed at his conscience and made him furrow his eyebrows. Of course he had thought about Winry those two years, but the promise of seeing her whenever he returned kept the guilt away. Anger flooded through him with the idea of anyone making her cry, but the thought of Winry in danger and him not being able to help her made his heart clench painfully; and that scared him.

Just friendship didn't make you hurt to see the other person this much.

XxX

"THIS PLACE IS FREAKING GIGANTIC!" Edward screamed in frustration, throwing the map down and stomping on it under both of his feet. "And how in the hell are you supposed to get anywhere around here with all of these damn people crowded around you?!"

The boys had left the train about an hour ago and had not since found their first stop—their hotel. Edward had scoffed at the man at the train station selling maps, saying that maps were for the directionally challenged—which he most certainly was not.

When they'd wandered around aimlessly for about thirty minutes, Edward had finally relented and sent Alphonse over to purchase a map from the smirking man. The older Elric had the thought of wiping that smug look right off his face when Al had to drag him away.

After turning the map every which way in an attempt to mark their location, Edward had snapped—hence where they were now.

Alphonse bent over and picked up the poor mangled piece of paper, dusting it off and walking behind his angry older brother who caused a bubble of space around him because of his constant cursing and fit-having. Hauling heavy suitcases around a city where people were constantly bumping in to them was no soothing task either, so the wide berth of space was greatly appreciated by Alphonse.

"Brother— turn left right here." Al said behind Edward, who turned around and bowed sarcastically.

"By all means, lead the way o mighty Alphonse."

Alphonse scowled but blushed as he moved in front of his brother and navigated their way to the large hotel. Edward barged into the spacious lobby, not even glancing at his younger brother's smug face and marched up to the front desk, waving his luggage around wildly.

"Who's in charge of building this damn city anyway?! It's impossible to find _anything!" _

The elderly man blinked and looked up from his book, staring at the young boy in disinterest. "I don't know, sir. And who might you be?" He asked, closing his book and pulling out a new one with listings of names.

"Edward and Alphonse Elric, state alchemists." Edward replied, mimicking the man's bored tone as both boys flashed their pocket watches.

The old man visibly paled, dropping his pen and backing away from the shocked teens. "A-a-alchemists?" He stuttered with wide eyes, backing into the glass shelf situated behind the counter and causing it to fall with a large crash, earning many glances from onlookers in the room.

"H-help! Help! These men are dangerous!" He screamed, pointing a shaky finger at the boys who looked at the man in confusion.

"Maybe we should—" Edward started, turning to go to the door when the curtain behind the desk opened suddenly, revealing a young man around their age of about nineteen who immediately bent down to help the older man.

"Grandpa! What's wrong with these men?" He asked, giving the Elrics an accusing glare.

The wrinkled elder glanced warily at them and leaned in to whisper to the boy. Edward scanned the room and realized that most everyone had stopped whatever they were doing to stare at the happenings at the front desk.

The young man nodded and patted his grandfather on the back, pulling him behind the curtain and emerging alone minutes later. He held up a key and laughed, "I apologize everyone, my grandfather just gets out of hand and confused sometimes. We'll get this mess all cleaned up soon!" He said, smiling at the now-moving customers and turning to the Elric brothers with an equally cheery grin. "Gentlemen, if you will follow me, I will take you up to your suite."

The boys glanced at each other and cautiously followed him towards the stairs. The entire way to their third floor room, there was no sound but the soft and steady shuffling of their feet on the stairs. When they finally arrived at the door to their room, the young man handed Edward the key and turned to leave, but Ed's voice stopped him.

"What happened back there, Jeff?" He questioned, glancing at his name tag.

The young man smiled and gestured towards the open door to their room, "Perhaps we should speak in private."

The boys nodded, walking in as Jeff followed closely behind. As soon as he closed the door behind him, his smile dropped and he crossed his arms. "What do you two want? Money? Well, we don't have much, but if it's enough to get you two to leave, so be it."

Puzzled, Alphonse shook his hands in front of him. "No! No, we don't want anything! We just want to help—"

"You can _help _by leaving. Immediately." He interrupted. "Murderers," He spat the word, "are not welcome here." He spun around and began to crack the door open with haste.

Before he could leave, Edward slammed the door shut and snarled in his face. "Explain!"

The man spat in his face and while Edward was temporarily blinded, punched the alchemist square in the face, quickly opening the door and fleeing the hotel.

X

x

X

**Thank you to Hanashi o suru, Hidden Depths of the Mind, AndJusticeForMe, LifeAwakens, (x6 lol) Itachi26, and Stephanie. Frances. 39. For reviewing! Also to everyone who favorited or story alerted, thanks!**

**Sorry for not posting in a while, I just had all four wisdom teeth surgically removed and had no internet for a while, but se la vi! Aaand, I've been kinda sorta working on a Naruto SasuSaku story as well, which I recently posted…heheh, sorry. But if you want to check it out, it's called Love, Hate, Sex, Pain and it's on my page as well. :P **

**Pssst, it may be my first M rated story….  
ANYWAY! I smell a reunion close in the future for Edward and Winry! Maybe not next chapter but definitly the one after that! **

**Please Review! **


	8. Chapter 8:In Which the Author Torments

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters, but I do own shadow alchemy and Gray and her crew.**

**Chapter 8: In Which the Author Torments You Endlessly **

_There has never been a more uncomfortable moment in my life. _Winry thought, head bent against the incredulous look on Everett's face.

He dropped his hands away from her shoulders and paced in front of Gray's closed door, pinching the bridge of his nose with is eyes tightly shut. "How could you be so stupid? Really, Winry. _Our _lives are meant to be sacrificed so that innocents aren't hurt! Now there are shadows roaming around, causing havoc everywhere because of us!" He exclaimed eyes wild and arms flailing around.

"But how?" He mumbled to himself. "It took Gray and her brother both to open the gate to the shadow realm, and she was just teleported to it that easily?" Everett groaned, scrubbing his hands across his tried eyes. "It makes no sense!"

The door to Gray's room creaked open but Winry kept her gaze firmly fixed on the floor. "Winry. You broke your promise to me." Her teachers voice called from in front of her—steady and calm.

Winry tried to blink away the tears that came caused by the shame of disappointing the one woman she idolized so much. Wide blue eyes met stormy grey as Winry looked up to apologize, but all that came out was a choked sob.

There she stood, red hair still damp, clothes wrinkled and bags under her eyes and still looking just as strong as sure as always. Winry wished she could be like that—always sure; never weak like she had always been…and probably will always be.

Gray sighed and leaned against the door frame, watching Winry try and sort out her confused thoughts. She glanced at Everett, noting how tense his body was and knew how hard he was trying to not hit anything. She imagined she didn't look much better. All three of them looked as though they'd been through hell and back.

"Look. We're all tired and in need of a good night's rest." Gray's face scrunched up distastefully as the next words crossed her lips. "I hate to admit it, but this is too much for just the two of us. It's no longer safe here and the others need to know what has happened here."

Everett heaved a sigh and leaned against the wall with a quiet thud. "We'll pack tomorrow and leave early the next morning. Training will just have postponed until we get to Maddox and the others in the village."

Nodding to himself, he got up from the wall and walked to his room without glancing back at either one of the girls. Winry, still feeling guilty, hunched her shoulders and began shuffling towards her room as well when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"You will not use shadow alchemy until I tell you that you can, understand?" Gray said sternly.

"Yes." Winry meekly replied.

Gray nodded and watched Winry trudge back to her room and shut the door behind her quietly before she allowed herself to let her head fall into her hand. She slowly walked back into her room and closed the door behind her quietly, leaning against the door with a small thud and staring into the darkness in front of her.

_I knew something was different about Winry, but I would never have guessed her to have this much power. This isn't just her; something must have happened to make her shadows flow so intimately with the Seikatsu no Yami, but what? _

Gray closed her eyes tiredly and felt her way to the bed, softly plopping down and laying against the soft pillows. _Hopefully, Maddox will have the answers to these myriads of questions in my head, or I may go insane. _

XxX

"She's crying." Everett stated as he entered the kitchen. He watched as Gray continued to pack hidden weapons and important books into small bags that could easily be carried during their journey.

"I know." She replied, not even glancing in his direction. "Just let her be for now. She'll get over it or she'll quit."

Everett frowned but nodded once to himself, deciding internally that if anyone would understand a woman's feelings, it would indeed be another woman. "Have you contacted Maddox?"

"No," She huffed, standing and dusting off her hands on her sweats, "It's too dangerous right now, especially with our location, so I can't even send our things ahead of us directly to the village. I had to open a light tunnel last night instead to ward away…what? What's that look for?"

Everett narrowed his eyes at her. "A light tunnel Gray? You _opened a light tunnel by yourself? _ Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?" He ground through his teeth, crossing his arms.

"I am perfectly aware."

"Then what possessed you to make you think that was a good idea? Just leave the stuff behind and burn what you don't want your brother to get ahold of instead of practically torturing yourself!" He exclaimed.

Gray made no reply and shoved her way past him and through the front door, heading towards the tall grass she had crawled out of just the day before with the small packs slung over her shoulder. Everett followed closely after.

After Gray threw the bags into what seemed to be a hole of light, she spun on her heel and poked Everett in his broad chest. "Look. What I didn't absolutely need is not in that house. Why in God's name would I have _anything _unnecessary with me? Fine, burn the house down, I don't care, but this," She indicated with her other hand to the hole of light, "_this _will help us to _not _get rid of important documents and books that are only for shadow alchemists and not let then get into the hands of the shadows, or any of the other blood-sucking 'normal' alchemists who think they want to play with them."

Everett stared blankly at the red headed woman and let out an irritated sigh. "Fine. Work yourself to death twisting the shadows into their complete opposite state and using them while they're unstable. I'm sure nothing bad will happen." He drawled.

Gray chose to ignore this as she heard Winry open her window and saw her poke her head outside. "Pack up, Winry. We leave first thing in the morning!"

Gray turned on her heel and headed back into the house, "Sarcastic asshole." She mumbled as she passed her childhood companion.

XxX

"So, where are we going?"

"To the train station."

"Not what I meant."

Gray sighed and pulled her hood lower over her head against the torrential downpour they were practically wading through; squinting her eyes against the rain to try and locate Everett.

"I can't exactly talk about it right now, Winry." She said, pointedly looking at the people surrounding them. "Let's just get to the train and focus on that, okay?"

"Alright." Winry huffed as they approached the covered platform; removing her hood and shivering slightly at the cold wind that blasted her in the face, making her feel as if she were in the middle of a blizzard.

_Gray still won't let me use my shadows as a shield. I doubt they'll let me until we get to the village. _

Gray finally met up with Everett and as they boarded the train, the red headed woman gained many curious stares. Winry shifted uncomfortably as they handed over the tickets in line and another woman whispered to the man beside her.

"Gray." Winry whispered, "I think they're talking about you. What's going on?"

The woman merely shrugged and ducked into a neaby train booth that Everett already occupied, settling in and pulling out a map from under the folds of her cloak and looking at it intently; not even looking up at Winry. "Who cares about them? They're not important right now. What's important right now is getting you to the village safely."

Winry sat next to Everett by the window and across from Gray, her eyes still wandering the train car and the people walking past. Her back was stick straight and her hands were clenched together as she stiffly nodded in consent to Gray's statement.

Everett sighed and leaned towards Winry. "Look, don't worry about it. You remember Gray's tattoo?"

At the mention of her tattoo, Gray's eyes lifted from the map she was studying. Winry nodded.

"Well," Everett continued, "If there are dangerous shadows around, it changes to the color red and usually moves to somewhere where she can see it, which gives us some warning. So relax kid, you're making me nervous." He mumbled, leaning his head back against the seat and closing his eyes.

Winry turned her attention to the window and leaned her head against it, trying to mimic the 'I-don't-give-a-damn' aura Everett exuded but failed miserably. Her eyes drifted away from the rain outside and focused instead on the reflection showing their booth. Gray and Winry's eyes met and something in her teacher's eyes made her wary. She couldn't shake the horrible feeling out of her gut that told her Gray and Everett weren't being completely honest with her anymore.

**Normal POV: **

"That son of a—ARGH!" Edward groaned in frustration, kicking the hotel door and marching towards the bathroom to wash off his spit-covered face.

Alphonse heard his brother smashing and throwing around what he assumed to be the pleasant little thing hotels usually had for their guests—like the little dogs made out of rolled towels—and Edward cursing every one of them to the deepest part of hell.

The younger Elric sat on the edge of one of the beds and began taking off his shoes; mind whirling to try and figure out what had just happened. The elderly man had not seemed opposed to them before they introduced themselves, and they had never killed anyone. A little annoyed at them =, yes, but not angry or scared, so what was it then?

Alphonse lay out sideways across the bed and stared at the ceiling, listening to the water flow in the bathroom when it finally occurred to him.

"Brother!" He called.

Edward shut the water off and poked his head out the doorway of the bathroom, towel in hand. "What is it, Al?"

"Didn't you notice how the old man freaked out when we showed him our state alchemist badges?"

Edward scowled and began drying his face. "It was kind of hard to miss." His muffled voice stated bluntly.

Alphonse frowned and stayed quiet until Edward sat on the opposite bed; kicking off his shoes as well. "I mean, it's really not that hard to believe—Ishbal and all that, you know? News travels fast."

"Yeah, but….that still doesn't make any sense. First of all, that didn't even involve them and most people wanted Ishbalans exterminated anyway. And second, Jeff asked us if we wanted money, which means that these alchemists have been terrorizing this town for a while now." He concluded.

When minutes ticked by with no response from Edward, Alphonse turned on his stomach to face his brother, only to find him boring his eyes into the door. "Brother?"

Edward blinked and laid his head against the pillow, turning his back on Alphonse. "That's not really our problem right now, Al. Don't worry about it; we leave for the village tomorrow morning as soon as we gather all of the necessary supplies."

"But, Brother, these people—"

"can handle this if they really want to. Look, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go home and the sooner we can see Winry. So let's just forget about it and get some sleep."

Alphonse knew there was no way for him to argue, though his heart told him it was a bad idea to just leave these people, he knew how much he missed home and Winry especially after all that Pinako told them. And if _he _was missing her that much, Edward must be just about desperate to see her and make sure she was okay.

XxX

A relatively safe location, a good bed, and a free breakfast are usually a recipe for a happy morning.

Unless you were Edward Elric.

Alphonse watched in despair as Edward threw a tantrum about milk being the only thing left this late in the morning and entertained the idea of just leaving the diner without his older brother. He sighed. But alas, he _was _Alphonse and he couldn't leave Edward on his own to be kicked out because, well, because he was related to the idiot.

"Listen here, jackass, either give me something other than milk, or I will change your pitiful excuse of a diner into a block of metal the size of my fist!" Edward shook his fist at the man and noticed Alphonse coming towards him. "HA! Do you even know who we are? We're the youngest state al—"

Alphonse's hand clapped over Edward's loud mouth and apologized, leaving the money for still uneaten food in compensation and dragged his older brother out the doors before letting his struggling brother down.

"What the hell, Alphonse?! I didn't even get to eat!" He yelled, beginning to turn back to the restaurant.

Alphonse grabbed him by the collar and whispered, "You were really going to tell him that we are alchemists? In a town that is deathly afraid of them?" He asked incredulously.

"Oh yeah." The blonde-haired boy replied. "Whoops."

Alphonse stared wide-eyed at his older brother whose eyes had wandered away from his and into the crowd behind him. Edward peered even closer, cautious excitement appearing in his eyes.

"What is it brother?" Alphonse questioned, turning around only to find more and more unknown people.

He turned back to Edward who shook his head. "Nothing. Thought I saw red hair, was all. But it was too long to be our guy—it was probably just a woman. Plus she was with two other people, hardly the tactic of someone who wants to stay hidden." He shrugged. "Let's just go finish our mean and get out of this overpopulated town."

Alphonse nodded, but glanced back into the sea of people behind him and thought he saw a slash of long blonde hair swing out of a hood. He blinked, and it was gone. The younger Elric shook it off as wishful thinking on his part and followed Edward back into the restaurant without saying a word.

XxX

"It's hot and cramped and windy and sandy and hot and AHH THERE'S A SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL FOR ALL THIS SAND IN MY EYE!" Edward yelled, scrubbing his hands across his face in an attempt to make some pieces fall out but only succeeded in rubbing it in more.

Alphonse bit the inside of his cheek to prevent his laughter to overflow by the sight of the tears leaking out of his brother's eyes in irritation to the grains. "At least we don't have to walk in it, brother." He consoled, glancing around the old-timey cloth-covered wagon they were recently seated in.

"Yeah, not _yet._ He'll only take us about three quarters of the way, the rest; we'll just have to tough it out on foot." He said dryly, kicking at a box that slid over and collided with his knee.

Alphonse nodded and stretched his hand out to grab the map Edward held and looked over their location. At this rate, they'd be in the shadow village in about an hour. One thing still troubled him, though.

"What do we do with the people once we find them?" He questioned.

Edward raised an inquiring eyebrow and took the map back after a few minutes, rolling it up and stuffing it into his travel bag he sat on. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Mustang told us to exterminate anyone who did this alchemy because they're dangerous, but that just doesn't seem right…"

Edward nodded. "Yeah I agree. We're not on a murder mission, Al. Right now, what we need to focus on is red head guy, Maddox, and finding out what I did while inside your gate."

Alphonse nodded and Edward turned his attention to the mystery object inside his coat. Pulling it out, he turned the small box around and around in his hands. _Who are these people? Why are they so secretive? They have an entire village, and more, it seems like, if they have so many people, and not to be taken lightly, so why do they hide? _

Edward sighed quietly. His curiosity would be the death of him.

The carriage began to slow down, but the only difference in scenery from when they left and now was…

…absolutely nothing.

Sand still covered everything as far as the eye could see and Edward would have accused the man of driving around in circles except for the fact that the city they'd left was tiny in the distance and Teacher's landmark was there.

Edward and Alphonse hopped out of the carriage and donned their packs heading over to the driver to thank him.

"This the rock you were talkin' 'bout boys?" The old man asked.

The brothers nodded. "Thank you again for driving us all the way out here. Have a safe journey wherever you're going and back."

The man chuckled. "Well thank you, but I don't reckon I'll ever be back. 's too dangerous and businesses are shuttin' down 'cause of it. Ya'll did right leavin' when ya did, else ya mighta got caught up in it. Safe journey, boys."

With a tip of his straw hat, the man clicked the horses into motion and began to drive away, pulling the wagon slowly behind him.

The brothers shared a worried look but brushed it off for the moment and began the long walk towards the village with the only sound being the crunch of their boots and the howling of the wind beneath their hoods.

XxX

Edward didn't know whether to weep or jump for joy.

The boys had found the city.

And the wall.

"Teacher didn't say anything about it being this difficult to find the damn gate!" Edward yelled, kicking the sand colored blocks.

Alphonse couldn't help but let out a growl of frustration as well; they'd been circling the entire perimeter of the wall for _hours _and the sun was beginning to set, leaving them with hardly any light and frostbite in the middle of the desert.

"Open!" Edward shouted, holding up the box containing whatever Izumi had given them. "Ouvrez! Ōpun! Aperi! Kāiqǐ! God DAMNIT!" He waved the box back and forth across the wall, jumped around in front of the sandy wall and finally threw it on the ground, himself following soon after—crossing his legs and arms and setting his face in a scowl. "Screw it." He huffed.

Alphonse knelt down and picked up the discarded box, and with only a slight hesitation, began to open it.

"Al! What are you doing?" Edward scrambled to his feet and crouched beside his younger brother whose eyes were fixed on the now completely black sky, and made no move to stop him from opening the mystery box.

Alphonse made no reply, but popped the lid of the box open and glanced at Ed, who gave a small nod of encouragement; lips tight in anticipation.

Both of their faces fell into confusion as Al pulled out the palm-sized circle of metal. Etched into the silver metal was an image of the dragon and phoenix, but instead of the traditional yin and yang position, they were attacking each other. The dragon ripped off the phoenix feathers while the bird bit the tail of the dragon. Around the image, there was an inscription.

"Neque civem neque hostem. Non verum. Non jacet. Temperata nullo, tantum aequalitas." Edward read aloud.

Alphonse furrowed his eyebrows, "Neither friend nor foe. No truth. No lies. No balance, only equality."

Edward scoffed, "Because that makes sense."

The boys stood once again and repeated the routine of looking like idiots before Edward blew up.

"I'll just break it open!" He clapped his hands together and pressed them against the man, and Alphonse joined him soon after. The Elric brothers created large fists of sand and barraged the door; shaking the Earth beneath them.

The boys panted in exhaustion and stopped using their alchemy. Both collapsed on the sand and fell back to look at the inky black sky. "Maybe we should just tell Mustang to come talk to Maddox for all this damn trouble." Edward mumbled.

A large swirl of black began forming in the middle of the wall in front of the brothers and both boys shot up to their feet in anticipation. The black continued to move outward until a square of black appeared. Alphonse looked at Edward uncertainly and nodded to the door.

"HEY! LET US IN!" Edward yelled.

Alphonse's head whipped over to his brother with wide eyes, but before he could open his mouth to tell him to _shut up, _the darkness moved.

The last thing Edward remembered was watching what looked to be the tentacles from the gate in-between grabbing him around the waist and pulling him apart.

X

x

X

**I am so sorry. I am a terrible person. I just left you guys hanging like that…ahhhh and as an apology I SWEAR that the next chapter will have a reunion in store for Edward and Winry, but not before a little angst for the couple :P **

**Welllll I really have no good excuse for you guys except school is kicking my ass right now...I know the chapter is kinda uneventful, but I had to set up for the next update which I promise will be awesome and exactly what you want!  
Review, please? **

***says in a singsong voice* I'll give you a shirtless Edward if you dooooo**…..


	9. Chapter 9: And So They Meet

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Full Metal Alchemist but I do own Gray and her alchemy!**

**Chapter Nine: And So They Meet **

_Clank clank clank. _

"How are they?"

"Fine. A couple of more tests and we should know every physical thing about them."

Edward's eyes twitched underneath fluttering eyelashes as he slowly regained consciousness. Material scratched at every part on his bare skin.

"Why do you insist on reorganizing those? Do you need some air? I could cover for you—"

"No, I'm fine."

The two girls ceased to speak and in their silence, Edward could feel their gazes bore into him and he just _knew_ that they knew he was awake. Quietly, he assessed the situation. From what he could tell, his ankles and wrists were completely bound and all of his clothes were gone save for his boxers, allowing his bare muscular chest to be ogled by the two mystery women and causing him to blush in slight embarrassment.

Edward took a steadying breath and cautiously slid one eye open. The room was bright and brought pain to his dilated eyes, causing them to tear up slightly. Through the haze, he could make out a small room decorated only by a small mirror hanging on the wall alone above a small dresser and an uncomfortable- looking chair that was currently unoccupied to his right.

"Ah! I knew you'd wake up in no time!"

Edward scrunched his eyes shut in response to the object being thrust into his face and wished he could cover his ears against the girlish high-pitched squeal.

"Anne, you're being too loud. The tests we did will make his senses extremely sensitive right now." The calm female voice chided.

Edward attempted to peek his eyes open again and bright blue apologetic eyes met his. Her mouth opened into a shocked 'o' and went to fluff his pillows; her curly blonde hair falling into his eyes and her chest hanging uncomfortably in his face.

"Anne, please. We don't know if he's on our side or not right now. Get away from him."

The girl called Anne huffed and turned to the other, older looking woman with a frown and Edward turned his eyes skyward in slight relief from her distractions.

Edward tried his bindings to see just how tight they were tied. If they were only going to have two girls guarding him, he could easily grab Alphonse and—

_Alphonse! _

The elder Elric turned his head left and right, but was only met with a white wall and Anne's back. He tried to swallow to speak to the girls and demand to know where his brother was, but his throat was dry and his tongue felt like a fifty pound weight glued to the roof of his mouth.

The best he could do was make a dissatisfied noise and hope that it interrupted the girls' bickering.

Edward made a noise like the cross between a donkey and a whale and was pleased to see both girls turn their attention to him.

"Oh! I bet you're thirsty aren't you? Here, do you want some water?" Anne asked, moving to the side and out of his line of vision, leaving him with a full view of the other girl occupying the room.

Though she sounded a lot older than the flamboyant Anne, she couldn't be but two years older at the most; probably around his age. Her steady black gaze bore into his as if she was peering in to his soul and made him twitch uncomfortably under her scrutiny. Her giant black curls and cold demeanor reminded him of the clouds before an apocalyptic storm that framed and emphasized her pale complexion.

The cool-eyed girl frowned and turned to Anne who returned to his bedside with a cup. The black haired girl pushed her weight off the counter she leaned on and slid beside the blonde girl, grabbing her arm and halting Anne's movement to give Edward water. Edward looked between the two girls; the first thought in his mind being the incredible contrasting features and personalities. Day and night. Light and dark.

But one thing unnerved him about both girls; a unnatural calming feeling surrounding the two, even when they fought. Like they knew he was no threat—or if he was, he'd be no trouble.

Anne turned unbelieving eyes to the other girl. "Cyn, we can't torture him! It's just _water." _

The blonde jerked her arm free and Edward wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he saw a black aura emanate around the older girl, disturbing the calm façade, but chalked it up to the drugs he was most likely on when it faded and 'Cyn' turned a murderous glare in his direction. Anne rolled her eyes and turned back to Edward, handing him the cup and smiling brightly.

He decided he liked Anne better.

The cool water washed away the dryness of his throat and unstuck his tongue from the roof of his mouth causing Edward to sigh in happiness; he felt as if he hadn't had a drink in days.

Which reminded him…

"How long have I been here?"

That wasn't exactly the first question he meant to ask, but it would have to do. Either way, if the downcast eyes and the tight lips of 'Cyn's' lips were any indication, he wouldn't be getting an answer anyway, which caused Edward to mentally trash that question.

"Where is my brother?" He demanded, pulling against his bindings once again but with more force. If he could only get his hands close enough together…

"I don't recommend you do that." The older girl stated, looking pointedly at his bindings.

"Good thing I don't care about your recommendations, then." He mumbled, continuing to pull on the strange black string and wondering what the hell it was made out of to make it so strong.

"NO, please don't—"Anne began, but was cut off when a door slammed open behind his bed.

"Cynthia, do we have an unruly patient?" A deep male voice questioned tauntingly, his boots clunking on the floor as he approached Edward's bedside.

"Nothing we can't handle." Cynthia responded, marching to Edward's I.V. and pulling out a syringe from her jean pocket. As she inserted the needle in to his I.V., Cynthia gave him a hard look that said _speak and I'll feed you to my rabid dogs out back _and Edward quieted, beginning to drift into sleep once again.

"The other on is doing the same." The male voice sounded.

Edward could barely make out Cynthia's nod.

She turned to Anne, "I'll watch him and, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. You go and test the other one."

"But—"

Cynthia continued to argue but all Edward could hear was mumbling as the light began to fade in and out. Soon, he was unconscious once again.

XxX

"Come on sunshine, I saw you scurry faster than that around the perimeter of our border."

Edward paused in the act of pulling on the sweatpants he was tossed as soon as he was half-dragged out of the hospital bed that morning and whipped his head towards the man who came to _do _the dragging.

"You saw us outside? Then why didn't you open the damn gate sooner, you jerk?!"

The large man shoved Edward towards the door of his room but paused before opening it and reached his hand in to his pocket. Edward's golden eyes were shrouded in darkness as a piece of cloth covered them and he pursued his lips in confusion.

"I don't have to answer your questions, pipsqueak. You're no one special; you've only been here three days drooling on a hospital table. Get moving." His voice sounded from behind Edward, roughly shoving him forward in the center of his back and tying his wrists so close together with the odd black tendrils, he had no hope of moving them, let alone clapping them.

_These people are strange and rude. If he saw me and Al outside the wall, shouldn't he have let us in when I showed Izumi's medallion? And what's with the blindfold and separating me and Al? _

Edward growled in frustration and was shoved again in response.

_If these people don't come up with some good answers fast, I'll have to find a way to Alphonse so we can get out of here. _

The Elric quieted his thoughts as they turned a corner and heard voices in the distance getting louder. Edward's pace slowed as the man behind him jerked his shoulder back roughly and the voices grew quiet.

"Behave yourself in there or I'll have to find fun ways to torture and kill you later." came the voice from behind him.

Edward gulped and was taken by the arm through the doors he'd previously stood behind; a cool sweat breaking out over his forehead. As he took his first steps into the mysterious room, Edward could feel the stares of many people to the left and right of him. The hall was empty and silent; the only things to listen to were his footsteps and seemingly loud breathing.

Pulled to a stop once again, he was yanked back once again like a dog attached to a chain and stopped standing with all those eyes boring into his back. There was a heartbeat of stillness before someone finally began to speak.

"Young man, I do not know who you are or why you are here, but a wise man would not shake an unknown beehive." A quiet but powerful voice boomed from in front of them. From the sound of it, the man was somewhere above him.

"You are obviously not one of us and you spoke of a teacher and a military officer, one of whom must have given you my emblem. How they came across it and how you came to possess it is unknown to me, but first; what is the name of the boy to whom I speak?"

"Edward Elric." He stated stoically.

"Oh? And who are the two people who you mentioned while attempting to break down my walls?" He asked with a twinge of irritation in his voice.

Edward paused. If he was in trouble, that was one thing, but dragging Izumi and Mustang into it as well didn't sit very well with him.

His pause was apparently too long for the asshole behind him, who tightened the restraints in his wrists until they bit into him painfully; drawing blood.

"Enough." came the strong voice in front of him; the pain on his wrists decreasing, but still throbbing with the memory of his restraints. "Answer my question, boy." He demanded.

"A woman and a man." Edward gritted through his teeth.

The people behind him stirred uncomfortably and a few mumbles were heard through the crowd. Edward braced himself for the blow he was sure the man behind him would give when he felt him stiffen in anger, but no pain came and the crowd grew hushed.

The measured steps echoed in front of him and Edward strained his senses to try and locate where exactly the mystery steps were walking to. The quiet shuffles finally stopped and Edward could feel hot breath next to his ear.

"Showing off is the fool's idea of glory, Edward. Answer my question clearly and I will not be forced to lock you up or kill you."

_These people are fond of their threats. _He thought grimly

The old man was not trying to scare him, he could tell. More like a warning from the wise to the ignorant. Edward nodded slightly and breathed through his lips, "No harm must come to either."

"Of course."

Edward took a deep breath, and still only speaking to the one man, said, "Izumi and Roy."

He could feel the absence of the man's presence and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Remove the blindfold." The man's voice boomed.

Edwards's eyebrows shot up in shock. _This man will trust me so easily? _

"But, sir—"the one Edward recognized as the asshole from earlier stuttered.

"I said," the old man continued, moving closer, "remove the blindfold, Dameon."

Edward stiffened in preparation to fight his way out of there if things got messy between the two. The tension was palpable at Dameon's blatant lack of respect for authority and Edward would not hesitate to use it to his advantage.

Just before the Elric brother could begin to shuffle out of the way before blows were exchanged, he felt the blindfold slacken against his eyes. Blinking away the light spots intruding his line of vision, the blonde boy let his eyes wander the room.

Grey slabs of stone created the walls surrounding the crowd and a small balcony protruded from the top floor of the room inside the cathedral-looking judgment chamber. The balcony was not deserted nor crowded with what he assumed was civilians behind him, but instead with a single row of battle ready fighters. Both men and women dressed head to toe in black, hoods covering any facial features that were not already obstructed by the darkness of the room and the lowering of their heads. Edward could tell a guard when he saw one and knew that despite the fact that no weapons were visible, did not mean that they weren't there.

_The guards, _he thought, and eyed the man in front of him warily, _but why aren't they closer to their leader?_

Edward continued to look at the powerful man in front of him. He didn't look anywhere over thirty, but his voice and influence added age to his presence and blinded, Edward couldn't tell if he was thirty or three hundred. Grey hair spotted his short full beard and his shaggy brown hair was greying at the temples, showing the wisdom and stress he'd gained in years past. The older Elric guessed that he usually would have kind eyes, but they were currently steeled against the insolate man disobeying him now behind Edward.

"You would do well to know your place." He continued, voice quiet but menacing.

Dameon bowed his head; the movement jerky and forced. "Forgive me."

The older man's reply was to only turn his back and Dameon took this as his cue to leave, turning on his heel and allowing the hard wooden doors to slam shut behind him.

Edward's eyes followed him all the way out the door with his dramatic exit along with the rest of the crowd who seemed to be unaffected by Dameon's antics as if they happened on a day to day basis. The man sighed behind him, causing the blonde to turn around once again.

"Edward Elric," he began, spinning Edward around to face the crowd of faces and beginning to pace in front of him, "is a friend. He is no threat to us at the moment." He continued, turning to face Edward with a hard look, "Any reason to believe otherwise will result in his immediate termination. As of now, however, there is to be no resentment shown to him or his brother Alphonse."

Edward sighed and scanned the crowd, seeing some of them turn and nod to each other while others stared stoically ahead with unreadable expressions.

The leader nodded to himself as he assessed the crowd himself. "Then if that is understood, you all may go."

Some of the onlookers allowed emotion to seep into their features; some smiling at the prospect of a new person in the village, Anne being one of them, and others slyly looking at the others cruelly as if waiting to watch his demise.

He'd have to watch his back around here.

As the people filed out of the door, the man removed the strange bindings holding Edward in place.

"I apologize for any wrongs or accusations that we may have about you, Fullmetal Alchemist. You will understand our precaution someday, I assure you."

Edward inspected his wrists where they were previously bound, slightly wincing at the sight of the bloody mess trickling down his hands. It was odd, though. The wounds weren't normal for rope burns; come to think of it, they weren't normal for _anything. _Except maybe a bite wound that goes all the way around.

Storing this disturbing information for later, Edward focused on the man in the room, "How do you know who I am?" He questioned, "I don't even know who you are…" He stated, mumbling quietly.

The older man chuckled quietly, shaking his head slightly. "How rude of me. I am Maddox Abordeer, leader of this village."

Before Edward could open his mouth to ask just _what kind _of maniac village had a fifty foot wall and mentally unstable inhabitants, one of the guards from the balcony was suddenly at Maddox's side, whispering into his ear quietly.

The leader nodded to the guard who quickly returned from whence he came and looked at Edward. "I am sorry my friend, but I must call this conversation short. There are some pressing matters I must attend to. Anne?" He called, looking to his right.

The girl came out of the shadows, unnerving Edward to no end. She was like the sickly sweet stuffed animal that was always staring and smiling at him when he would wake up from a nightmare, though he could've sworn he got rid of it _months _ago. Where the hell had she even come from?

"Yes?" She asked, bouncing up to Maddox's side in a heartbeat.

"Bring this young man to his brother and see to it that they are properly taken care of, will you?" He asked pleasantly.

Anne's happiness dropped slightly, but she restored her mega-watt smile quickly; bowing. "Certainly." She quipped.

Edward allowed Anne to take his arm and lead him towards the door and babble about random things to keep her busy while his mind was preoccupied with other things. Like how to fake a seizure, set the curtains on fire in the process, and make his escape while she was distracted.

But he'd need to get to Alphonse first, so that would have to wait.

Just before they opened the door to the bright sunlight to leave, Edward took one last glance over his shoulder to look at the powerful leader and his guards, only to find a completely empty room.

**Winry's POV:**

_This town sucks. _Was the first thought that popped to the front of her mind as she watched people trudge through the packed roads. _There are SO many people and it's hot, hot, HOT! _

"Especially under this damn hood." She grumbled under her breath.

"Go ahead, take it off. I'm sure you won't attract that much attention seeing as how you have platinum blonde hair and are half-naked in a brown-haired conservative town." Everett said sarcastically beside her, throwing his hands up in a mocking way and shrugging his shoulders.

Winry narrowed her eyes at him under her hood and went back to mind-numbingly staring at nothing and leaning against the low bicycle post void of all said two-wheeled contraptions. The two had been there for about an hour with the only explanation being that Gray had to do some things before they left.

Well, wasn't that just peachy for Everett, who could continuously trade out cool shadows from the alley behind them to coat his body with his own personal air conditioner, the bastard, but to Winry, who was still on punishment, this was the sun's personal challenge to itself to see just how long it would take to cook her alive.

After a few more minutes had passed, Winry was about to scream and report Gray as kidnapped, (which really was a laughable idea in itself) when she saw a slash of red hair coming her way holding bags on her arms.

"Here." She said, handing both Winry and Everett bags filled with clothes and a pair of boots. "Change in there; we have about twenty minutes until our camels are ready."

Winry's head snapped up from sorting through the contents of her bag to incredulously stare at her sensei. "C-camels?"

"Yeah, you know. Camels. Four legs, two humps, likes to spit in people's faces…?" Everett trailed off, vaguely waving a hand in front of her face.

The blond stuck out her chin, nodding and turning to walk into the small glass diner to change, muttering under her breath, "Bring it on."

Everett grinned and looked at Gray as she watched the blonde march in the jingling door and rolled her eyes. The man stood there for a second, smugly looking at Gray out of the corner of his eye. "So you _did _listen to me when I told you about the camels this time instead of making us walk through that hell storm like last time…" He trailed off, smirking at her.

Gray rolled her eyes and let out a huff of indignant air, pushing him in the direction of the door.

"If you were so impatient to get me to get me to take my clothes off Gray, you could have just asked."

XxX

Winry sunk lower over the nasty, sweaty, hot camel that she currently rocked on. Silently, she prayed that this would be the one and only time she'd be riding the damned beast. The ripped up jeans Gray gave her to wear were becoming even more ripped because of the course skin that was barely covered by a cloth on her old-as-dirt camel. The thin cotton baby blue shirt she wore had no protection against the sun, and was clinging to her sweaty torso sprinkled with grains of sand. The scarf she'd wrapped around her hair just made her face and hair hot and sticky as well, adding on to her hatred of the sun.

Winry narrowed her eyes at the two camels ahead of her. "I bet she planned this." Winry mumbled, doing the best impersonation of her teacher behind her back and straightening on her camel. "Oh! Let me wait until the right moment and allow Winry to screw up and I'll ban her from using her alchemy while we're in TEN THOUSAND DEGREE WEATHER!" She shouted, in hopes that the other two would hear.

Neither Gray nor Everett turned around or even glimpsed in her direction, too occupied with their conversation to be bothered by her and Winry let out a short huff, deflating on her camel once again. Winry patted the side of the neck of her camel in mock affection.

"Well. Looks like it's just you and me on this god-forsaken path to hell. I hope you like sand, because that's all you'll be seeing for the next millennium." She grumbled, watching as the camel turned his head in her direction and snorted all over her jeans and boots. Winry looked mournfully at her snot-covered self and back into the camel's eyes with a flat expression on her face.

"Yeah. I'm excited too." She mumbled sarcastically.

XxX

After hours of wading in the hot afternoon sun, a wall came into view. Gray and Everett both dismounted their faithful steeds and approached a gateless slab of sandy bricks, which caused Winry to raise an eyebrow skeptically.

Shrugging, Winry tried to mimic the way her mentors had smoothly leapt off their camels, but failed plopped in the dry sand unceremoniously with a small "oomph" on her backside.

Her camel looked at her with bored eyes and chewed invisible food in his mouth; totally uncaring that she could have been trampled by his giant hooves. Winry scowled unattractively up at him.

"Come on Winry." Gray called, placing her right palm face up in front of her own face and beckoning to Winry with the other.

Winry picked herself off the ground and shot a warning look to her camel in case it had any funny ideas of spitting in her hair or on her back, and moved next to Everett to watch what her teacher needed her for.

Gray created a small dagger out of her shadows and moved it across her palm to draw blood, pressing it against the barrier.

The blond haired girl wrinkled her nose in distaste and Gray turned to her with her hand still pressed to the wall's surface. "Don't worry, my blood is only shed because I don't have my emblem and I haven't been in the village for the newer people to recognize me."

"Plus," Everett added, looking up at the top of the wall, "Shadow alchemists are extremely wary of other alchemists ever since what happened a couple of years ago, so they want to make sure everyone is who they say they are…and what better way than through blood, right?" He said, scowling at Gray's bloody hand.

Gray's blood seeped into the hard looking stone; forming a dark trail and darkness began to gather around her palm, swirling in a circular motion around it. Winry openly gaped at the giant black gate that formed and turned to Gray who withdrew her hand and began dressing her wound.

The red head looked up and patted Everett comfortingly on his shoulder as she passed, gesturing for Winry to mount her demon camel once more.

Gray waited until Everett had settled in and snapped the reins on her camel, urging it forward and through the infinite darkness, Everett and Winry following closely after.

Blue eyes squeezed shut in fear as she led her animal through what felt like a black hole pulling her apart rapidly and pulling her in at the same time. Winry became extremely dizzy and began to sway on her camel; unable to recognize the presence of either one of her teachers.

The darkness began to swirl in front of her and Winry became hypnotized by the chaotic tranquility of the motion.

"Gah!" Winry gasped, falling off the camel and into…nothing at all. She fell and fell and fell, when finally she came to a stop, dropping onto her side in the middle of the blackness.

Winry could only hear her quick breathing as she took a step forward, hearing a dull splash like she was she was in shallow water. The further she walked, the colder she became. Wrapping her arms around herself, she refused to use her shadows to explore, for fear of getting into worse trouble with Gray.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Winry called, shivering and beginning to panic.

"Hello?!" She yelled, beginning to walk faster. To where, she had no idea.

"Winry." A voice whispered behind her.

The blonde stopped in her tracks and swung around, but saw nothing but darkness.

"Yes? Hello!" Winry cried, tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes at the remembrance of her nightmares.

" .Winry." The voices called around her, making her cover her ears against the cacophony of echoes surrounding her.

_I don't know what to do. I can't block it; I don't know how. Gray is supposed to protect me! _She thought frantically, and that's when it dawned on her.

Gray _wasn't _here. She wouldn't always be there, no matter what she promised. Just like Everett.

Just like Edward.

Winry moved her hands away from her ears and opened her eyes, standing tall with her shadow blade at the ready. Screw what Gray said.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore! You hear me?" She shouted, mentally congratulating herself when her voice didn't crack.

"No more running! Who are you?!"

The silence that followed was deafening to Winry, whose confidence began to falter until she heard a noise behind her, causing her to spin around and breathe harder out of her adrenaline rush.

Winry couldn't see anything, and then a slash of red hair came into view. The blonde let out a whoosh of air out of her lungs and put her sword down by her side; arm hanging loosely next to her.

"Gray." She sighed. "I'm so glad you're here; how do we get out?"

The figure made no response but continued to approach Winry at a casual speed. Winry peered into the darkness, trying to pick out more details besides red hair, because if that wasn't Gray, then that could only be…

"Silas." She breathed, moving her sword in front of her to a defensive stance a second too late.

Hot breath breathed down from behind her; no part of his body touching hers, yet somehow she was frozen in place.

"Ah, I see my sister has made me no stranger to you." He chuckled, his voice low and soothing. If Winry didn't know any better, she would instantly feel safe with this man.

But, oh, did she know better.

"What do you want?" She whispered, trying to break free of the shadow hold he had her in.

"It's no use; all you'll do is waste your energy." He said, his voice now coming from in front of her; nonchalant as if discussing the weather, "And that wouldn't be good, now would it?"

Winry's only reply was an irritated grunt.

Silas chuckled, "Not in a social mood, are you? Alright then. Winry, what you have is a rare gift not given to many people freely. You have a connection the shadow realm and Seikatsu no Yami that flows so closely together, _I _cannot tell where it ends and you begin. It's magnificent!" He exclaimed, causing Winry to flinch.

She could hear the wet steps of his shoes on the floor coming closer to her and she bit back the urge to scream in anger when he tenderly moved a strip of her hair out of her face. "My little akuma no ko. Join me and you will have no superior; no equal! You would be stronger than any shadow alchemist that ever lived!"

Winry rolled her head away from his disgusting touch and spat where she approximated his face was.

She assumed she guessed right when his hand came across her cheek; busting her lip open to the point where she tasted blood.

He sighed, apparently calm after letting out his anger, "Very well; you do not have to answer me now, little one. I'll be back for you in two months. But before you go…" He trailed off and became so silent that Winry's heart began to race and she began to fidget.

Suddenly, and indescribable pain shot through her side and Winry cried out in pain; screaming when he twisted her own sword in her body.

"A little parting gift. Say hello to my twin for me." He whispered in her ear, and all was emptiness.

XxX

"Winry? Winry! Where are the medics? What happened to her? She was right behind us!" Winry heard Gray yell angrily. She could hear the bustle of people rushing around her and felt the dirt and rocks under her back where her shirt was lifted.

_I must have gotten through the shadows, but why can't I move or open my eyes? _She wondered, abnormally calm.

"Where are the damned medics? She'll bleed to death." Everett growled menacingly, applying pressure to her side.

"They're on their way, sir!" An unknown man's voice answered, "Everyone was in the middle of the village for a trial and one of their lead medics was on duty showing the man around after the ruling. Anne and Cynthia are on their way."

Winry could imagine the displeased look on their faces, but really, she couldn't feel anything wrong, besides the fact that she was temporarily paralyzed…what had happened anyway?

She remembered darkness…and the voices…but one voice stood out the most while she was alone. Winry knew his name, but it wouldn't come, it was on the tip of her tongue…

"Where is the wounded girl?" A new, strong feminine voice asked in the distance.

"Here." Everett answered, his voice moving away from Winry. "Where is the other one?"

A new set of hands pressed in to her side, replacing the ones previously there and she felt a strange prickling feeling where her side was being touched. The girl hummed.

"Anne? She's on her way. My sister was on the other side of the village babysitting those _alchemists." _She sneered, "And they're military, too."

"There are normal alchemists in the village?" Gray questioned, a hint of anger laced in her voice. _"Why?" _she growled.

"Don't know, but you know how it is; what Maddox says goes and he said they're alright, but I won't be relaxing around them for a good long time." Cynthia replied. "Good news on your little pixie, though. She was stabbed, but in a relatively safe place as far as wounds go and with a shadow sword, no less, so it will be easy to heal right here. Hold on."

_What Alchemists? _Winry wondered, purposely ignoring the odd sensation on her side, as if it was being sewn from the inside out. Dare she get her hopes up? _But what__could Edward and Alphonse possibly want in a shadow village? And how in the world did they even come across it?_

"Speak of the devil…" Everett trailed off.

_Devil…demons…my little demon, akuma no ko. Silas! It was Silas! _

Winry mentally cheered and her eyelids began to flutter, his hold over her in the darkness weakening and finally breaking. Finally, Winry could open her eyes…and feel the pain.

She began to whimper and all eyes fell to her.

"Anne! Something's wrong, push through the crowd, let's go!" A black haired girl she assumed was Cynthia called.

Winry glanced up and saw a petite golden haired blonde with Winry's blue eyes burst into the clearing she lay in, followed closely by two blonde haired, golden eyed boys.

"She's poisoned, Cyn!" Anne yelled.

Winry really couldn't care less if she was a bloody stump three seconds from death. The blonde boy whose golden eyes had been plaguing her was finally here. In front of her. Alive and well.

She wanted to cry.

"Winry?" Edward asked cautious hope and fear in his eyes as he peered through the crowd surrounding her.

"Keep him away from here!" Gray shouted, pointing to a small group of people clad in only black that entered the clearing shortly after Anne. The black clothed people rushed in on Edward and Alphonse, obstructing Winry's view from them and throwing her heart into a panic.

"Edward!" Winry cried, happiness at seeing him, but anger flooding through her veins at her teacher for separating them and not trusting Ed. Winry moved to sit up, but pain crashed through her body, causing her to look down at her side. And immediately wished she hadn't.

Black swirls moved through her veins, blackening the skin where it touched, rapidly spreading throughout her body.

"We need to get to the hospital _now. _The antidote is there; we can't let it spread to her heart!" Cynthia yelled.

Everett scooped Winry up and began to run with everyone else trailing behind. Winry looked over Everett's shoulder and saw Edward and Alphonse fighting back against the obvious guards, causing her heart to beat rapidly in worry for them and wonder at how he fought now that he had no alchemy.

"Edward." She whispered.

Darkness overtook her.

**Edward's POV:**

"Let me in to see her, god damnit! Is she okay? Hey! Someone answer me!" Edward yelled, slamming his fist into the wall behind him.

Doctor after doctor had come in and out of Winry's hospital room, stoic faced and silent. Well, he'd had enough of that. The next doctor would give him an answer or so help him; he'd _beat _it out of them.

"Brother. Please sit down. They'll let us know when they know." Alphonse stated calmly, patting the chair next to him directly in front of the hospital door Edward stubbornly stood in front of.

"How can you be so calm, Alphonse? Do you even care about Winry?!" He yelled, instantly regretting his words when he saw the crest fallen look on his younger brother's face.

Before Edward could open his mouth to apologize, Alphonse spoke. "Of course I do. But I don't see the point in making the doctors hate you and causing an uproar when they're trying to fix it. Anne's in there; she'll tell us what's' going on later." He stated confidently.

Edward sighed and sat down next to Alphonse. "Sorry, Al. I know you care about Winry, it's just…"

Alphonse nodded. "I know brother. I know."

**Winry's POV: **

Winry cracked her eyes open and was met with one's almost identical to hers. She glanced down at her sheet covered self and mentally checked her body for any signs of leftover pain but only found a dull aching sensation all over her.

"Ah, good you're awake. I was afraid that I'd have to invest in a barred door to keep Edward out." Anne chuckled.

Winry smiled and sat up, grimacing slightly at the small pain that induced. "Ed's still here?"

Anne nodded. "And Alphonse. I'm sorry about the pain, by the way. That will subside in about a day or two. Do you want me to let them in?"

Winry was afraid about how bad she looked, but told herself that it didn't matter. Edward came home beaten and bruised and stabbed more times than she could count, but she still loved him. She shoved away the fact that she was only in a black tank top and shorts and focused on the fact that she would be able to tell Edward how powerful she'd become.

Winry nodded and smiled shyly at Anne who left to get the Elrics but surprised Winry when only Edward walked through the door. His braid was a mess, there was worry in his eyes which made her heart clench painfully, and his muscular arms hung out of his dirty shirt.

Not that she was complaining.

For a while, both Edward and Winry just stared at each other. Each taking in what they could about the other and enjoying the fact that they were both in one piece.

Winry broke the silence first. "Ed." Reaching both arms out, she beckoned him to come and hug her.

After a few seconds passed and he still hadn't moved, Winry's smile began to falter and her arms started to lower. "Edward?"

Edward blinked and snapped out of his stupor, closed the distance between them and wrapping her in a bone-crushing hug. Winry wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her face into his slightly exposed chest, inhaling his familiar scent and running her hand through the loose strands of his hair. Tears began to gather in her eyes and Winry tried to blink them away, but not before some tears hit his skin and he pulled away slightly, sitting on the edge of her bed.

Edward frowned and used the pads of his thumbs to wipe away the offending tears. "I promised never to make you cry again, Winry." He said softly.

His gentleness only made her cry harder, alarming him and causing his eyes to widen. Winry shook her head, smiling slightly. "I'm not crying because I'm _sad. _I'm crying because I'm so happy." She replied, smiling the brightest smile she had in years.

Edward smiled slightly and squeezed her hand which had become linked between them.

"You would not believe what's been going on." Winry stated excitedly, ready to tell him about her shadow alchemy.

"Oh, I can take a good guess." He replied, looking slightly angry. "How could you be so reckless, Winry?"

Winry knit her eyebrows together. "Wait…what?"

"I overheard enough of Maddox's and Gray's conversation to know the dangers you've put yourself in. Shadow alchemy, Winry? That's…that just screams danger and you willfully threw yourself in?" He growled. "Now look at how beat up you are. Pinako's all alone, Al and I were really worried, and for what? What did you hope to gain besides death? I needed you _safe_ and you go out and purposely put yourself in the way of danger!"

Winry ripped her hand away and recoiled as if he'd hit her. "_Danger? Worried? Alone? _Are you describing me or you, Edward Elric? I _hoped _to gain strength so I could defend myself because you and Al are so adamant about not being around!"

Edward narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. "Winry, these people are complete strangers and as far as I've heard, all they've done is open a power to you that you _can't control. _Alphonse and I have always looked out for and protected you, and that won't change just because you have an out-of-control power—"

"I can control it! I was just caught off guard and—"

"—and those _people _didn't even realize you were in trouble and had fallen behind!"

Winry burned her eyes into his. "You may underestimate me and my alchemy, but 'those people' never have. They were there when you chose no tot be. They gave me encouragement when you didn't. _They _don't just fall off the face of the Earth and never reply to my letters!"  
Edward snapped his mouth shut with an audible click.

"I _waited _for you, Edward." She gritted through her teeth. "Two years I waited with no word from you. And now you march in here after only months of my being gone and you think you can just tell me what to do?"

Edward stared at her for a long time. "You're not ready for this yet, Winry. You're not strong enough."

Winry's eyes began to burn in a different way than earlier and she bit the inside of her cheek to prevent the tears from overflowing. She swiftly looked away from his golden eyes. "Get out."

Winry didn't glance up when she felt the side of her bed lift and heard the door close. When she heard his steps fade down the hallway, Winry turned on her side and stared a hole into the wall, refusing to let herself cry.

She _was_ ready for this. She _was_ strong enough.

And she'd be damned if Edward Elric tried to tell her otherwise.

X

x

X

My God! That was long! Over 7000 words! I hope you guys liked it.

Thank you to Hidden Depths of the Mind, savanna1997, Siren Air, jaclynkaileigh, Manga Ren, and Shirraz78 for reviewing! And to anyone else who added this to story alerting or favorites, THANK YOU. I love you all.

So. Their reunion wasn't exactly as I had planned it. I actually wanted to give you guys a little fluff, but ALAS. I am a terrible hoarder of the best scenes until I can start a new chapter with lots and lots of reviews to keep me motivated. I can be a very cruel and demanding person when it comes to my need for reviews…*cracks whip*

No, really. I'm sorry if this wasn't up to you guys' expectations, but I started writing the last part and when I first wrote it, it felt like Edward would have been on OOC overload. So in the trash it went (I write it in a spiral first, then type it, THEN edit it, and then post it to you guys. So, basically I edit three times) and out came this monster. Sorry.

ANYWAY. Things in the lovely couple's relationship will pick up after a little bit of jealously :P like any healthy relationship. And the shadow's alchemist's past will slightly come into light…slightly.

REVIEW! I'll love you forever if you do! And maybe…give you…a kiss?

What I'm getting at is I got you with sexuality last time and I'm trying again.

Humor me?


	10. Chapter 10: Misunderstandings

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist but I do own Gray and Shadow Alchemy blah blah, done. **

**Chapter 10: Misunderstandings and Wake-Up Calls**

**Winry's POV:**

"And here are your keys!" Anne chirped, dropping them on top of the pile of things Winry was already holding.

Winry shifted slightly under the stare of the younger girl and was reminded that she was in a hospital by the coldness seeping into her bare feet. The crinkly paper gown they put her in hardly did anything against the freezer box she was in and stuck to her in all the most irritating places imaginable and was made even more uncomfortable by the fact that she hadn't even been allowed to shower since she got there. After practically twiddling her thumbs for the past three days sitting in the blue-grey room, she yearned for the rays of sunlight that she was sure would meet her outside and the cool water of whatever place she could bathe in.

Winry blinked. Apparently Anne was waiting for some kind of acknowledgement, so she nodded and said, "Thanks."

"No problem! Oh, and your house is right…here!" she said, gleefully bouncing over to a map tacked to the back of the wooden hospital door and pointing to a square in the middle of the village. Anne gestured towards the bundle Winry was clutching to her chest. "Everett said your clothes are on their way, whatever that means, so these are some regulation clothes from the academy—I hope they fit. Also, there are some boots under there somewhere and the rest of your necessities are already ready for you in your house!" She clapped her hands together, causing a glassy-eyed Winry to flinch and snap to attention.

The bubbly blonde smiled and walked towards the door. "Gray and Everett's houses aren't very far away, but are closer to the outskirts of the village, because they're constantly on call. Anyway, I'll leave you to get dressed. I actually don't recommend you shower here; the temperature usually only has two settings—third degree burns or arctic ice, but there's a bath and a shower in your house. Oh, but I've babbled on for too long, sorry! I'll see you around!" A swish of blonde curls and the door swung shut behind her retreating form.

Winry's blue eyes stared at the door a few seconds after the girl had gone and she shook her head, glancing down at the stack of things she had in her arms, placing them on the stripped hospital bed behind her. That girl could _talk._

Winry gingerly picked up what Anne had called regulation clothes and sighed wearily, pressing them against her body to see how they fit against her. The entirety of the outfit was black. Tightly fitting black pants that flared out slightly at the end, a black V-neck shirt, black bra and black boring panties. Was there nothing that these people liked to wear besides black?

Shrugging, Winry peeled off the disgusting hospital gown and paused, glancing fleetingly at the bathroom that was slightly hidden behind a cracked door and weighing the pros and cons of burning or freezing her skin off. Tip toeing over to the bathroom and cringing at the coolness of the floor, Winry pushed the door open slightly and peered into the bathroom. Her blue eyes widened at the red stained porcelain tub and rusted shower head in the corner of the bathroom and she quickly clicked the door shut, practically sprinting for her clothes and pulling them on over her greasy head and sticky body.

After she finished tightening her laces on her painful boots (black. figures.), Winry pulled her hair into its traditional pony tail, pocketed her keys and walked to the door, not even glancing at the door to disgusting behind her. As her hand reached out to the doorknob, she paused and glanced over the map tacked to it again. It seemed that they had designed the village purposely so that if someone was a stranger and didn't know where they were going, it would be easy to get lost. Winry's eyebrows furrowed in thought as she stared at the piece of paper.

After a few seconds ticked by, Winry shrugged and reached up, ripping the map from where it was and folding it neatly to fit in her back pocket. No one would care, and if they did, she would mention that their hospitality sucked and no one offered to show her around anyway. So there.

Winry stepped out of the door and was met with hallway after lookalike hallway and wooden door after wooden door. After what felt like days wandering the passages, Winry turned a corner and finally saw a clear door showing the streets outside. She smiled with glee and began to charge for the door, when a voice made her pause in her steps.

"…Winry." Came the end of his sentence.

Said girl halted in her tracks and crept closer to the slightly ajar door, pressing her ear closer to listen in.

"Just _try_. C'mon, I'm not too scary." Anne. Winry definitely recognized that voice.

She could hear a disgruntled sigh on the other side of the door pass through Edward's lips. He grumbled something back at her, but Winry couldn't hear and leaned closer.

"Fine." A pause. "I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say besides that; I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said some of the things I did and if I hurt you, I didn't mean to." He took a breath. "Ever since I got here and saw you, all I want to do is pull you close and not let anything bad happen to you."

Edward faltered at the end of his sentence and silence ensued, allowing Winry to properly eat her heart out. Who was he talking about? Anne?

"But all you did was yell at me, Edward. Yell and blame me for something I can't control." Anne responded, sounding angry.

"I don't know how else to convey what needed to be said!" Edward yelled.

"You could try, Ed. For me."

"I did!"

"Well, you didn't try hard enough!" Anne snapped.

Winry could hear his steps come closer to where she approximated Anne was, "I'm just supposed to come up to you and tell you that every second I don't see you, it feels like my heart is pulling itself apart? That when I see your eyes, it makes me think of the sky back home and the childish freedom I felt there? Your hair looks so soft and beautiful all the time that all I want to do is run my hands through it and pull you towards me to see just how soft your lips really are against mine?"

Winry clutched her heart where it was beating overtime and peered in to the crack in the door. Anne was pressed against a low cabinet with Edward towering over her in both a possessive and threatening way and staring straight into her sky blue eyes. The sight nearly made Winry choke.

Anne's face scrunched up in distaste, "Well, if you couldn't have said that, you could have just shown me!" She spat back at him.

Winry flinched away from the door before she could hear or see anymore as tears began to build. No, please don't show anything with her standing right there. Her vision became clouded and her legs automatically raced her to the nearest exit.

XxX

If rain was good for anything, it was hiding tears and clearing streets.

Winry blinked up at the black sky and frowned. It was odd for it to just randomly rain in the middle of the desert, though she assumed it had to happen sometime. Either through a monsoon or some freak storm coming barreling in unannounced. Though the rain was troublesome, it brought the otherwise dreary plant life alive and beautiful again and brought a much needed reprieve for the people shriveling up in the heat outside, giving them a slight boost as well.

She swept her hair over her shoulder and took cover under a slight overhang, squeezing her hair out and reaching in her back pocket reflexively. When all that came back in her hand was bits and pieces of soggy paper, she remembered why she wasn't at her "close" house yet.

After fleeing the hospital, Winry came out to a rapidly emptying street and black clouds in the sky. Without really processing this information, she had whipped out her map and invested all of her attention on getting to her house as quickly as possible. When the first few raindrops hit the paper, she impatiently flicked them off and kept on walking. After the ninth or tenth time doing this, she realized that it had begun to rain quire well and tried to save the pitiful pile of mess in her hands by shoving it in her pocket to keep it as dry as possible as she continued on in the rain.

Well, that went over about as well as a snowball in hell.

Winry scowled at the bits of paper and flung them on the ground, feeling satisfied by the way they squelched under her boot as she passed, intent on finding her home and removing the image of gold and blonde from her memory.

XxX

Winry stood before her small house drenched in the middle of a thunderstorm proudly, hands on her hips and a slightly insane smile gracing her mouth. She clambered up the steps and stuck the key in the handle under her tiny porch, eagerly jiggling the knob until it opened.

Her modest entry way ended in a slight arch that led straight into her living room comprised of a couch pushed against the near wall under a window opposite a tall bookshelf full of large books. Winry quickly shed her clunky boots in the corner on the mat in her entry way and dashed for the fireplace set between the shelf and couch in her living room, but frowned when she realized she neither had wood nor a way to light the thing.

Disappointed, she stood up and padded over her hardwood floor past a closed door on her left to the next open room; a nice kitchen adorned with very modern silver and black appliances and a clear sliding door that led outside to a small backyard which was currently doubling as a shallow lake, apparently. Sighing, she turned away and opened the other two doors, finding a nice bathroom (shower and bathtub both stain-free, to her immense happiness) and a queen sized bed in the center of her bedroom with a wooden bedside table next to it in the other.

After finishing with her self-guided tour, Winry stood looking out the window, still dripping water everywhere when her mind again began to wander to Edward and Anne's conversation. Their words swirled in her mind over and over; the image of them so close and intimate with each other burned in her memory. Why could he speak to Anne that way and not even acknowledge her existence when she was so blatantly dropping hints that she had feelings for him—

A clap of thunder snapped Winry out of her thoughts and she purposefully marched over to the crowded shelf of books, intent on distracting her mind once again. The book she chose was old and dusty, but the title entranced her nonetheless.

"Pulvis et Umbra. Hm." Winry hummed to herself. Intrigued, she cracked the cover open and peered inside.

_Ludere cum eis qui obscurissimi sunt;_

_Filii vestri portabit maledictio tui et daemonium sanguis in saecula._

_Qui operam perditis succurrere,_

_Ruina erit minister vester._

Winry ran her hand over the painted illustration on the opposite page of the inscription. Tendrils of blackness crawled up out of a seemingly endless hole in the Earth that grabbed anything it touched and brought it into the depths. Women and children screamed; their mouths agape in a silent cry for help as the tendrils crawled into their bodies through their eyes, nose, and mouth while the men tried to fight them off with pitiful looking weapons.

Sad blue eyes gazed at the pictures as Winry flipped through the book, ignorant as to what it said, but unwilling to put it down. It looked as though these people were poor; their rag-like clothes barely hanging on to their bony shoulders as they tried again and again to fend off the darkness. Winry paused on a page that was so much different from all the others.

There were explosions instead of swords and spears, armor instead of rags, and unknown people fighting against the darkness instead of losing to it.

Winry flipped through the pages again, only to be faced with countless amounts of blonde hair, then gold hair…and more gold hair…blonde…

With a frustrated growl, Winry snapped the book shut and threw it across the room where it landed with a dull thud where it landed as it slid to the floor.

She had to get her mind off of them. What could she possibly do to do that though? Magically erase all her thoughts?

Suddenly perking up, Winry bounced up from where she was slouched on the wall and smiled brightly to herself.

**Edward's POV:**

Embarrassed was not even the right word to describe what he was feeling at the moment.

After his little…talk with Anne, Edward decided to go and visit Winry. He thought that she at least had a right to know about what his feelings were.

Now here he was, under a pink umbrella in the middle of a downpour in a shadow village where he wasn't even _remotely _welcome (except for Anne) and he was lost. Edward Elric, someone who had no doubt been to more places that your average person, and he was lost. In a village that hated him. Under a pink umbrella.

He ground his teeth together in frustration. Anne had given him directions before he left the hospital and even offered him a map, which he accepted, but when they went to get it, it was gone. Anne said someone must have taken it that day; the darker outline was still there from where it had been earlier.

Damn the thief.

Now here he was, having a shit day in suck city all because some asshole decided to take one of the only maps in the village and probably use it to wipe his hairy—

"Lost?"

Edward halted in his steps and looked up. Maddox stood towering above him, solid matter hovering above him; not one drop of rain hitting his pretty little greying hairs. Edward didn't want to think about what the older man was going to say behind his back about the umbrella.

"Um, yeah." He said uncertainly, scratching the back of his head. "Winry's house?"

Maddox smiled and pointed over Edward's shoulder in the direction he had come from. "That way. Turn right, first house on the left."

The older Elric nodded, "Thanks." He mumbled, turning in that direction when he felt a him flick the contraption above his head. He paused, turning around to see the older man's retreating back.

"Nice umbrella, by the way."

Cheeky bastard.

XxX

Edward slowly ascended up the four wooden steps that lead to the small porch and felt his heart hammer in his throat. He paused before the door, taking a deep breath and leaving the annoying pink umbrella leaning against the house next to the entry way. Edward knocked twice on the wood and waited.

He frowned when there was no response and knocked again, but a little harder. Still nothing. Was she ignoring him?

Edward knocked one last time with still no response and began to turn away, but stopped. His resolve steeled and his face set. He was here to tell her what was going on and damnit, that's what he was going to do.

Edward marched back up to her door and tried the knob. If she was going to ignore him, he was willing to risk a wrench to the face just to annoy her a little and get his point across. To his surprise, the door easily slid open, revealing a dark house and a drenched entry way with wet boots in the corner and a trail of water leading into the living room and through the kitchen.

"Winry?" He called, slowly making his way through the living room and being careful not to walk through any of the wet puddles. Edward peered through the living room into the kitchen and was met with more emptiness. Becoming worried, his pace began to quicken as he walked toward the clear door on the opposite end of the kitchen.

_Where is she? _He thought frantically, looking through the glass door and only seeing himself reflected back. Edward threw the door back, causing the door to rattle as it hit the end of its track. Edward's eyes widened as a flash of lightning illuminated the person he'd come to find.

The sound of the door had no effect on Winry as she danced in the rain. Or at least, that's what he thought she was doing. Her golden hair was down and shining all around her; making it look as if she had a waterfall of sunshine surrounding her in the gloom. Her blue eyes were shut, not in pain or force, but in peace and happiness. In her hands she held two large fans made of dancing shadows that moved like smoke along with her movements. She looked strong and sure in how she moved; power in every breath and movement.

It was beautiful.

**Winry's POV:**

_Taijishan, _something Gray had taught her during meditation when she couldn't sit still, worked just as well as sitting on that giant rock under the tree at clearing her mind and erasing her stress. Winry conjured two _buchae_ to assist and balance her as she went through the movements and steps of her exercise.

At first, the rain had irritated her. It would drum on her back and splash her in the face and disrupt her shadow fans so that they weren't constantly whole. But after a while, she realized that the rain had a rhythm, and the dull splashes against her back was like the beat of music. In her hazed state of mind, Winry barely registered the dull thunk of her screen door opening, but could tell that whoever was there meant no harm.

When they didn't leave for a while, though, it began to irritate her and she began to lose her focus. With a sigh, Winry let go of her peace, and kept out her _buchae _in case she felt like whomever it was who was bothering her was going to pay for her disrupted piece of mind.

Blue eyes slid open and blinked against the rain, trying to pick out who was standing on the porch. She could make out a tall figure…and it was approaching her…and it had golden hair…

"Edward?" She questioned disbelievingly.

Edward regarded her quietly and didn't respond, but took a step towards her instead, stepping off the porch and into the rain. Winry stepped back.

She hardened her face and disintegrated her fans, watching as his eyes widened in wonder. Winry crossed her arms, "What do you want?"

A puzzled look came across his face, "Nothing. I mean, I want to talk to you. But, shouldn't we get out of the weather first—"

"Where's Anne?" She interrupted.

More confusion. "At the hospital," He answered slowly, "Why?"

_How dare he act like he doesn't know anything! _Anger began blooming in her chest, and Winry stomped a little closer, narrowing her eyes dangerously at him.

"Shouldn't you be with _her?" _

Anger flushed across his feature, replacing the confusion on his face as he took a step towards her, becoming fully soaked through with rain. Thunder boomed ominously. "What are you talking about, Winry?"

That was it! He could be gone for years, like someone else, date someone else, but he _could not lie to her._

Winry jabbed a finger on his chest accusingly, never breaking eye contact with him. "What am I talking about, Edward Elric? I am _talking about _the fact that after all these years of breaking down your _giant ass walls, _I get a hug, a pat on the head with 'We'll be okay Winry. We'll always come back' and some blonde haired air head that you just met gets an _apology and reassurance like __**that**__?!_"

Realization crept into his face, and as he opened his mouth to speak, Winry pounced before he could get that chance.

"Don't even try to deny it! I _heard and saw _you two in the hospital earlier today, getting all cozy." She spat. "And then you have the gall to come to _my house _and come just to have a talk around tea? Drop the act, Edward!" She shoved against his chest, ignoring the fact that she moved him all of about two centimeters, "What do you really have to say to me? _What do you want?" _

Winry's voice broke on the last word and she cursed herself inwardly. Turning her sadness into anger, she tried to shove harder, but he caught her wrists in a gentle but firm hold and kept them on his chest right over his heart, ignoring her curses at him and her feeble attempts to pull away.

Finally, Winry surrendered and stopped moving, keeping her eyes averted to the ground. The small, rational part of her knew she was being a child and that if she really cared about Edward, she should let him be happy with whoever he wanted to be with. But to Winry, that was just a bunch of _bullshit. _If you want something, you go for it. That's it.

"Winry." He said quietly. She didn't look up. "Winry, Winry, Winry…"  
She could feel his chest moving and looked up, shocked that he would cry for her, but scowled when she did see his face. Trying to jerk her hands away again, he pulled her close in a hug, keeping her hands trapped under one of his between them and his other snaking behind her back.

"Let go of me, you soulless _bastard. _Why are you _laughing?"_ She snapped.

Edward took a breath and looked down at her, locking blue eyes with gold. "Anne and I were _acting."_

She blinked. "What?"

Edward smiled gleefully, but it quickly turned sheepish as he used the arm around her to rub the back of his neck, "I knew you were getting out of the hospital today and I wanted to apologize for the things I'd said to you when we first spoke, but I didn't know how. Anne had the idea to practice with her first, acting like she was _you_."

Winry could feel herself blush, "So all those things you said about…her hair and eyes and soft lips and how sorry you were…that was all to me?"

Edward let her hands go from between them and placed them both on either side of her face gently, wiping the rain and tears away from her eyes and cheeks, leaving her hands resting over his heart. He nodded, "Yes."

Winry could feel his breath heat her face and she reached up to put a hand behind his neck to pull him down closer, "Do you want to know?"

They were so close they could practically taste each other's breath. "Know what?" He whispered.

"How soft they are?"

Edward grinned and pulled her close, mashing his lips with her s and running his hands through her loose wet hair. She loved the feel of his body pressed against hers and the knowledge that right then, in that second, they were both safe from everything.

Edward pulled her against the side of the house so they were partially out of the rain and moved even closer to her, pressing every curve of his body into hers. His lips began to leave hot trails wherever they wandered on her neck, collarbone and chest; kissing the cool water off of her skin and leaving fire behind.

Winry knotted her hands in his hair and pulled him to her lips again, which he gladly complied with, shyly probing her bottom lip with his tongue. Shocked, she opened her mouth slightly and his ventured in, exploring every part of her mouth in earnest, leaving her to do the same to him.

XxX

Through the fog of her mind sometime later, Winry recognized the sound of her name being called. Still wrapped in Edward's embrace, she honestly didn't care who'd see them together. The thought of Anne possibly seeing them still gave her smug satisfaction.

"Winry?" A distant female voice called. The voice registered in the back of her mind, but Edward nipping at her bottom lip distracted her slightly.

"Win—oh. Ah, we. Uh."

Winry detached herself long enough to see through the haze of rain Gray shoving Everett, who was smiling so big it looked as if his face was going to split in half, back into the kitchen and looked down at herself. They were just kissing, right?

Wrong.

Her black shirt was hiked up so far, anyone could see the underside of her bra, both of her legs were wrapped around Edward's waist; the only thing keeping her upright was Edward's body pressing her against the side of the house, one of his hands was supporting her and the other was exploring the smooth expanse of her middle.

No wonder Everett was grinning like a Cheshire cat. She'd never live this down.

Edward's glazed eyes slowly came up to meet hers and they both smiled lazily at each other. Winry pushed a piece of his hair that had escaped his braid back and whispered, "I have to go back inside now."

Edward nodded and let her down, Winry got to her feet and made eyes contact with him, noticing the blushes marring both of their faces. It wasn't awkward like Winry thought it would have been. All he did was smile shyly at her, grab her hand, and lead her into the house. She couldn't help the stupid smile that plastered itself on her face.

XxX

They were such fakers.

Winry held back from rolling her eyes as she stepped into the living room alone, after Edward opted for a shower and clean clothes rather than face the teachers. Gray was steadily studying the bookshelf in front of her like it held the meaning of life somewhere on it and Everett took up a post next to the fireplace, which he had running somehow, and was filing his nails with one of his few actual daggers and whistling quietly.

"Something you guys needed?" Winry asked curiously.

Gray looked at her and pointed at the book on the floor. "What'd that book ever do to you?"

Winry shrugged and went to pick it up, placing it on its rightful place on the shelf. She looked at Gray steadily, waiting for an answer to her question and hoping they wouldn't ask about the puddles on the floor as well.

Gray opened her mouth to speak when Everett jumped in, "Where's lover boy?" He questioned with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Winry could feel the glare Gray was shooting him, but chose to answer for herself. "In the shower."

"Taking a cold one, eh?" He asked, barely concealing the laughter in his voice.

"Everett." Gray said despairingly, giving him a withering look and glancing at her student's sputtering face, which was about as red as a tomato. Before Winry could counter, Gray continued on. "We came here to tell you what the Council said about you becoming one of us."

Winry nodded. She figured she'd have to do _something _to acquire her tattoo and place among shadow alchemists, and she figured it'd be something like show them she could make a shadow weapon, or how to make a portal or—

"You have to fight every person in the village that's your age or one year in either direction and beat every single one of them." Gray deadpanned.

Winry's mouth gaped open.

"Careful, your face will get stuck that way. _Then _I bet he won't find you so attractive."

She was going to throttle him.

X

x

X

So first, thanks to savanna1997, jaclynkaileigh, shirraz78, guest (you mysterious person, you) and adorabubble (sorry I couldn't make three, but here's one. Cookie?) for reviewing!

HELP! I'M DROWNING IN FLUFF AND FEELINHS AND AHHHH!  
So what did you think? Huh Huh? *nudge nudge* *says in a Russian accent* You like, no?

ANYWAY. The Latin paragraph word thingie (sorry, I'm tired) I forgot what it's called, I'm going to explain that next chapter so don't worry, if you Google translate it, it'll probably come out as some mush like sjhfkjshfiUKJG akjdhsf safujh and then there'd be a large angry horde of readers at my door demanding to know why I'm speaking in tongues.

Okay, sorry I am just really really tired.

So, the main reason I'm staying up so late to post to you guys is that I know it's kinda late, but this is my Christmas gift to you. *pauses to see if any rotten fruits or veggies are thrown at head* And to those who don't celebrate Christmas which is totally joe cool with me, merry update to you! YAY COOKIES FOR EVERYONE.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I GOT MY VERY OWN LAPTOP! No more sharing with my Grinch older brother who usually demands that I play video games and make him sandwiches to use it!

PS (well, technically, it's like a PPPPPPPS, but whatever. Technicalities.) I was thinking about updating—er, creating–my profile on fanfiction. Like a bio, I think it's called. What do you guys think? Yay? Naye?

So as always, leave me a review and I shall love ye forever.


	11. Chapter 11: Insanity and Randomness

**Disclaimer:****I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, but I do own Shadow Alchemy and all the craziness along with it.**

**Chapter 11: In Which There is Insanity**

"_Everyone?! _Are you _insane?" _Winry screeched, looking astonishingly to both Everett and Gray.

"Don't be dramatic," Everett said, "She clearly said everyone in your age group."

"We all had to do it…" Gray trailed off, nonchalantly tossing more wood into the fire. The sparks flared as the flame grew higher in her tiny fireplace.

Winry stared into the fire, fisting her hands at her sides, "But I haven't lived here all my life training and learning like you guys did." She complained, walking towards her laundry room and throwing hers and Edwards's wet clothes into the dryer and grabbing clean ones for herself. As she pulled yet another one of the black shirts over her head, a thought struck her. Leaning her head back into the living room while pulling on some shorts, she said, "Wait—not everyone here is a fighter like you; I saw some regular-looking citizens in the town. And Anne is a medic! She's not a fighter!"

Gray stayed carefully quiet as she stared at the fire. Everett pushed himself off of the side of the fireplace and moved to sink himself onto her couch, slinging his arms on either side of him on top of the piece of furniture carelessly. His eyes slanted to Winry as she reentered the room, "Every man, woman, and child in this village can and will fight if the need arises. Don't let the fact that anyone is a medic fool you; they can kill just as well as Gray and I can."

"Then why do I have to do this? Why not just be a citizen?"

Gray turned to her; crossing her arms with an evil gleam in her eye that made Winry automatically take a step back. "What's this? Are you giving up now? After everything you've been through? Hell, after everything you've _caused?_" Gray paused, moving towards Winry; her flame hair matching the inferno behind her. "Now, after one little kiss and a little bit of a challenge, you want to turn into a pile of puddy and give up?" She scoffed. "No student of _mine_ speaks in such a manner."

Slanting her eyes to bore into Winry's, Gray came toe-to-toe to stare directly at her with a challenge. "Are you my student? Or do you not want the tattoo and honor that comes out of being a warrior for this village?"

Winry stared at her teacher. Her grey eyes looked almost black in the darkness of her house and Everett sat behind her; an unseeing yet ominous threat. She remembered what he'd told her back at their cottage about the yin and yang of the dragon and phoenix. As her eyes trailed between them; Gray threatening with her rage and fire along with Everett; her powerful defender who would never leave her side, her eyes unwillingly slid to the door of the bathroom. Would he be as intent on guarding her as Everett was to Gray?

"I…" She started, uncertainly.

Gray leaned away, pacing around the living room and taking a deep breath; sharing an unreadable look with Everett. Turning back to Winry, she fixed her with an unwavering gaze, "Is it because of_ him_?" She asked, jerking her head in the direction of the closed bathroom door.

Winry's blue eyes widened in astonishment. "No! I mean, it started out that way because I wanted to be stronger to take care of myself, but now…"

"Now…?" Everett prompted, looking at her with raised eyebrows.

"Now…" She paused, gathering her thoughts. After a brief silence, she steeled her eyes and steadily looked back at her teachers. "Now I want to see just how far I can go and how powerful I can become."

Gray nodded firmly, "And how else do you plan on getting stronger by being a civilian and not testing how good you are by fighting? You may not think you're ready for it now Winry, but after training with others, you'll see just how much you've progressed."

Distantly, Winry realized that the sound of rushing water was no longer coming from the bathroom and she lowered her voice. "I _am _your student," she whispered fiercely, "and I will do whatever it takes to protect those that I love. If that means fighting the entire _world, _then that's what I'll do. I refuse to be weak."

Gray appraised her student thoughtfully. She had come so far from that pitiful alchemist laying in the grass in front of her cottage all those months ago, complaining about having to run so far. The crimson haired woman smiled slightly at the resemblance she saw in Winry now that was so alike herself when she was younger.

Winry's cerulean eyes danced with the intensity of her statement and reflected the light of the fire behind Gray; giving her a menacing gaze that might rival her own one day.

_Maybe she will be able to do what is necessary after all. _

Everett clapped his hands once, snapping everyone's attention to him as he leapt off the couch. "Now that's what I want to hear—"

Winry's eyebrows furrowed as Everett cut off and she saw both of her teachers whip their heads to the entry way to her home with their faces wiped clean of emotion.

"What's going—"

Gray quickly shushed her without looking back at Winry and she felt a large hand come down on her shoulder. Everett tugged her behind him and stuffed his hands in his pockets, turning his head slightly to smirk over his shoulder. To anyone else, he would seem completely at ease, but she knew better than that. Winry knew that they were protecting her and that Everett's relaxed posture was nothing more than a way to ensure that he had the best view of anyone who came into the room and a convenient way to clear a straight path to kill them.

Winry blinked and there was a fourth person in her living room.

He was covered head to toe in black. The man was not wet, which struck Winry as incredibly odd, seeing as how it was still raining like crazy outside and there was not one drop of water on him. There was no way that even if he'd materialized his shadows above him could he have missed every single droplet, unless there were some underground tunnels that she was unaware of.

His face was covered with a cloth around his nose and mouth and a hood obstructed any chance of viewing his eyes or hair. The only way Winry could tell he was a man was the way he stood and his large upper body, which was crisscrossed with belts and straps holding a few onyx daggers in place.

The man's fingerless gloves reached into one of the pouches strapped to his leg and pulled out a scroll, which he handed to Gray. The air was tense in the small living room and Winry could not help her eyes occasionally darting to the bathroom door and praying that Edward was smart enough to not come out right now.

"Got demoted to letter carrying, eh Ezekiel?"

The careful silence was shattered by Everett's voice and Gray whipped around with a scowl on her face as she opened the letter. Winry wrapped her arms around herself and controlled her urge to facepalm and smack her teacher in the back of the head. How did he even know who this guy _was _anyway? He was completely covered in clothing!

When the man did not reply, Everett continued, apparently looking for a fight. "Well, that's what you get for you and your team practically _leveling _an entire city looking for just one woman."

"Everett." Gray warned, glancing up from the contents of the paper glare menacingly at him. "Enough."

Winry's eyes darted from person to person in the room, trying to make herself as small and unrecognizable as possible in a corner somewhere. Her eyes landed on Everett's face and her eyes widened at the look currently marring it.

Instead of looking at Gray or Ezekiel, Everett had his head directed at the ground; his hair shading his eyes and his hands balled into fists at his sides. His nonchalant façade was gone from his features and was replaced by a menacing air hovering all around him.

"No Gray, _not enough." _ He gritted through his teeth, still not raising his eyes from the wooden floor beneath them. "He should have been there for her when she was still by his side, _not _when he finally grew a conscience and decided to go back—"

Winry covered her mouth to stifle the loud gasp that escaped her in shock. In a flash, the man had darted past Gray and lunged at Everett, grabbing him by the neck and pinning him against the wall.

"You have no idea how it happened that day," the man growled, gripping harder when Everett began to laugh bitterly at him. The mysterious man slammed her teacher back into the wall again and again, "You have _no idea _how it feels to lose your _hozei senshi _in such a way, do you?! _She's_ still alive!"

Blood began to paint her wall behind Everett as a dent formed with the force of the man's anger and Winry looked to Gray in fear. As if the woman sensed Winry's silent pleading for her to help, she slowly bent and put the scroll on the coffee table and walked over to the two large men.

Winry wobbled out of her corner to get a better position behind the man at a reasonable distance just in case he tried to do something to Gray while Everett was…indisposed. Gray was about a head shorter than the two, and no matter how tough she was, Winry still may need to help her teacher.

Gray strode up beside the two men and placed a hand on the cloaked one's forearm. "Ezekiel. Please." She said quietly, glancing meaningfully at Winry, "I understand that you're upset, but this is neither the place nor the time to do this." Gray laced her words with steel and the man let Everett drop to the floor. "This is Winry my student, and these are not her burdens to bear."

Turning, Ezekiel looked at Winry. Or, she assumed he did. She still couldn't see his face because of his cloak. "So this is the one causing all the trouble? You seem very strong."

Winry blinked. He didn't sound very old; maybe a year or two older than her, but that was it. Without trying to sound menacing and threatening, Ezekiel actually sounded young and polite with a slight accent showing that he was foreign. The blonde opened her mouth to greet him when Everett's muffled voice cut her off.

"Don't speak to her." He growled, lifting himself slowly off the floor. His face was bloody and he shook as he lifted himself to his full height. "She is _not _your replacement for Isabelle."

Ezekiel whirled to face Everett once again, shock evident in his voice. "That's not what I—"

Gray cut him off with a wave of her hand. "I think it's best if you leave now, Ezekiel. Tell Maddox that I'm on my way."

Seconds ticked by as Ezekiel stared at Everett, who refused to meet his eye and instead looked into the fireplace. Finally he nodded, placing his fist over his chest and bowing to Gray, evaporating into a puff of smoke.

Winry let out a breath of air and released the shadows she had been holding at the ready behind her. She watched as Gray went over to the wounded Everett and began to speak to him in a low whisper while bandaging his slight wounds.

A creak in the floorboards to her left alerted Winry that someone was approaching and she swiftly turned to meet them. Edward stood leaning in the doorframe of her bedroom fully dressed and looking at her with wide, curious eyes as he scanned the damage.

"I feel like I've missed something here."

XxX

After Gray patched up Everett, she informed Winry that she had to go speak to Maddox about some business matters that were very important and left swiftly after that, warning her to not get into any more trouble. Winry wanted to point out that this was not, in fact, _her trouble _this time, but before she could open her mouth, Gray had already shut the door behind her.

Winry and Edward were in her bedroom, leaving Everett in the living room to sulk about in peace. Winry lay stretched out on her mattress while Edward swiveled around in her desk chair in the corner of the room while they took turns talking about what had happened to them recently.

"…and when I opened the letter, I was transported to this awful place full of death and what Gray and the others call the Seikatsu no Yami."

Edward tilted his head, "I've heard that before. What is it?"

"You know this stuff?" Winry asked, sitting up, excited that she finally knew something that he didn't. She coiled a tendril of shadow around her wrist and extended her arm to show him. "I control this to do as I tell it to. Kinda like the inanimate objects of this world, but the Seikatsu no Yami are shadows that are _alive. _They can manipulate their users to do their will for evil; never for good."

Edward nodded, "So how do you keep that kind of alchemy away from you? I mean, there's no visible difference, is there? It's all just…black stuff." He said, rubbing his wrists subconsciously.

"It's a conscious choice to gain the aid of the living shadows_. They _ask the shadow alchemist if they can merge with the body of their host in the in-between. Like where your Truth person is. Gates and all that, I mean."

"Why would anyone ever do that?" Edward mumbled under his breath, closing his eyes and turning his face towards the ceiling with his hands behind his head.

Winry looked down at her hands folded in her lap. "I read in a book a while back that they appear only to the damned ones of my kind. '_The damned shall haunt none but their own for all eternity.'" _She quoted quietly.

Edward cracked an eye open to glance at her and slid it closed once again. "So that means that Shadow Alchemy is cursed and that there are certain users that are cursed _more? _Sounds like a bunch of stuff some guy made up because he was down on his luck. Don't worry about it Winry; it's not like you've done anything wrong before."

_You have no idea. _She thought bitterly.

Sighing, she plopped down on her bed once more and closed her eyes; listening to Edward's soft breathing. Winry wished that she had those books with her now. All of those were translated into English with only a few Latin sections that she could decipher herself with the help of a dictionary translator (which was also in book limbo with her other ones _somewhere _outside this village), but the ones on the shelf here were _entirely _Latin. Really; who knew that much Latin nowadays?

The light bulb above her head was almost visible as she snapped her eyes open.

"Edward!" She exclaimed, bounding off the bed and leaping towards his dozing frame.

With a surprised cry, Edward stood bolt upright, clapping his hands and creating his sword on top of his hand from the metal of her chair he had just occupied. "What?! WHAT?" Edward yelled; his head snapping back and forth as he crouched low. "What's going on?!"

Winry leapt back; both hands in front of her chest with swirls of shadow in them. "I–I…you—your…" She stuttered, gesturing to his arm with wide eyes.

Edward glanced down and stiffened. He hadn't told her about his alchemy yet, had he? His golden eyes drifted back up to her slowly. "I can expla—"

"_**YOU GOT YOUR ALCHEMY BACK AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!" **_She roared, her fists glowing with her shadows as Edward backed into the wall behind him.

"Uh, Winry—"

"_**I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU, EDWARD ELRIC!" **_Winry yelled, forming a wrench and throwing it at his head, knocking him to the floor as it collided and making a satisfying thunk when he hit.

XxX

"Just tell me where he is, Anne. I need to find Edward."

"But—but I don't know where he is!"

Alphonse rubbed his temples and sighed quietly. This had been going on for about an hour. "You just told me that he was in a meeting with a dictator from Xing."

"I—I uh, I did? Well, ha-ha Alphonse Elric, I fooled you!" She said with a thumbs up and a wink.

Alphonse felt like pulling his hair out, "Please just tell me—!

"Hey, Anne. Did you send that idiot alchemist to the newbie's house yet….?" The woman's voice faded while Alphonse began to smile. "What? Why are you giving me that look?"

"Cyyynnnnn! You ruined it!" Anne groaned. She began to wring her hands and pace in front of the door, "Now they'll be interrupted! I told him that I would— and just where do you think you're going Alphonse?! Get away from that windo—COME BACK HERE!"

The blonde grappled with thin air as she swung her arms out the window and turned, falling to her knees in disappointment.

Cynthia sweatdropped, "I think I hear someone calling my name…" she said as she inched her way out of the room slowly.

XxX

_Finally out of that hospital! _Alphonse thought, stretching his arms under the cover of the tin roof he walked under. _Now, to find Winry's house…_

As Alphonse walked under the covered area that shielded him partially from the rain, he noticed an elderly woman walking by herself in the opposite direction and coming straight at him. Quickly, Alphonse made to move out of her way when she stopped in her tracks.

"You look lost, young man." She chided gently.

Sheepishly, the younger Elric scratched the back of his head, "Oh! Um, yes, I actually am…could you tell me where to find Winry's house? She just came here and has really light blonde hair—"

"Yes, yes, I know who she is, child." She replied, tapping her temple with one finger, "This old mind knows and remembers _everything." _

Alphonse smiled uncertainly and looked into the distance, trying to avoid the creepy woman's stare as much as possible when he felt her hand on his arm. "Well, dearie, this is how you get to your friend's house, so listen up."

Nodding occasionally, Alphonse listened intently to the woman's words as she gestured ahead of them to try and point him in the right direction. However, no matter how much he tried to focus on her, Alphonse could _feel _that there was something wrong about her.

_Something rotten._ He thought as she finished speaking and turned to look at him.

Thanking her, he began to walk away when he heard her call his name. Turning, he raised his eyebrows in question.

The little old woman came shuffling back to him and held out a letter, which he took hesitantly. "One more thing please, Alphonse dear. Will you give this to Mr. Balan for me when you get there? It's too far to walk for poor old Ms. Abigar to walk, you see. Though my mind is one hundred percent, this old body isn't what it used to be."

Alphonse looked down at the aged paper in his hands and confusion swept over him. Apparently, she had no idea that he didn't know who this person was. The young Elric snapped his head up to tell the elderly woman that he would was sorry, but he had no clue who that person was, but she was already gone.

Shaking his head in defeat, Alphonse stuffed the letter in his pocket and continued walking when halfway there, a thought struck him.

He had never told her his name.

XxX

_Found it. _He thought triumphantly, gazing up at the little house and listening to the yelling going on inside of the peaceful looking home.

Swiftly running up the stairs to get out of the rain as quickly as possible and stay remotely dry, Alphonse lifted to knock when a crash inside made him flinch slightly.

** "Now maybe you'll think twice about not telling me things as important as that!" **He could hear Winry yell, followed by another crash. Alphonse swallowed and steeled his nerves, using his knuckles to tap lightly on the door.

The commotion did not stop, but the man Al recognized as Everett answered the door, looking extremely unimpressed by the antics going on behind him. "Can I help you?" He asked when Alphonse just stood there quietly.

"Oh! Yeah, I was looking for Winry…" He trailed off, glancing behind the man and seeing said girl in the process of stomping out of her room and into the kitchen when she caught sight of him.

Winry stopped dead in her tracks and marched over to the door, shoving Everett aside with one arm and holding a wrench in the other. Pointing the object at him menacingly, she glared at the young alchemist, "Did you know about Ed's alchemy all this time as well Alphonse?" She snarled through her teeth.

"I—I well, er, yes…" He stuttered. Quickly, he spun on his heel and tried to flee when a hand came down on the back of his shirt and he was dragged back into the house.

"Oh, no you don't!" Winry roared, closing the door behind them.

XxX

"Here. Now stop being such a crybaby." Winry said, handing Edward an ice pack for the lump on his forehead. "I liked that chair you oh-so-kindly transformed into a sword, thank you very much."

Edward grumbled quietly as he took it; pressing it against his injury, "Let me hit you with a wrench multiple times and see how you feel."

The blonde girl spun around; a dark look plastered on her face. "What was that? You _don't _want an ice pack? Well, let me take it off your hands then…"

Winry reached for the ice which Edward quickly kept away from her hands, allowing a smug look to replace the angry one she wore before. Leaning against her cabinets opposite them and looking at both boys sitting at her counter on barstools equally beat up and slumped over in shame gave her a flutter of homesickness from when they were younger. Winry quickly shoved those thoughts away; even if they were to go back to Pinako's house, things wouldn't be the same as before when they were children.

Winry snapped her fingers, a grin tugging at her mouth as she eyed the two boys in front of her. Wary eyes looked back at her. "Why do I get the feeling that she's about to use us for something?" Edward whined, turning to Alphonse.

Ignoring the complaining Elric, Winry went into her living room and took the book from earlier off the shelf, catching Everett's eye as she walked past him reading a book of his own near the fire.

"And just what are you planning to do with that, Miss Rockbell?" He asked, looking back down at his book and flipping a page.

"Oh, you know. Summon up some creature of nightmares to come wreak havoc on the village; same old same old."

Nodding and muttering "have fun" under his breath, Everett went back to reading.

Not wanting to miss her moment of pestering him, she shifted her heavy book over to her other arm, a sly grin pulling at her face. "What are you doing with your book, then?"

Putting his head in one hand and holding his place with the other, he looked at her across the room, "It's porn. What do you think I'm doing with it?"

Refusing to let him see her blush (she doubted it was porn anyway), Winry twisted her face into a scowl, "I see."

As he went back to reading, Winry began walking to the kitchen when she decided to really be a thorn in his side for messing with her and stopped again, looking at him over her shoulder, "What page are you on?"

After a pause, he flipped the page and replied casually, "Sixty-nine."

Letting a chortle of very unladylike laughter erupt from her mouth, Winry finally walked back into the kitchen.

"Did you get lost?" Edward mumbled sarcastically as she went to stand on the opposite side of the counter and set the book down on the surface in front of her and between the boys.

Ignoring the moody Elric, she flipped to the page she'd looked at earlier that day and pointed to the inscription there. "You guys know Latin, right? Could you translate that for me?"

Both boys hunched over the book and asked for a piece of paper and pencil, which Winry scrounged up for them, watching them speak in low tones as she sat opposite them with her chin in her hands. The blonde haired girl was beginning to fall asleep when she was poked with the eraser end of a pencil in the arm by Edward.

Scowling, she raised an eyebrow in question.

"We're done translating, your highness." Edward said, looking at Alphonse expectantly.

The younger Elric picked up the piece of paper and looked at her, "Roughly, this is what it says:

To the fools who encouraged the most obscure;

Your children shall bear the blood of a devil, and a curse of the ages.

You waste their help; no one can save you.

Destruction will be your servant."

Winry furrowed her eyebrows and took the paper from Alphonse's hands; ignoring the concerned looks both boys were shooting her. "It sounds like a warning." She muttered, running her eyes over the picture again.

"Winry…" Edward began, causing her to look at him over the paper, "Is there something you're not telling us?" He flipped a few pages and pointed at the people in shining armor with explosions behind them, "Those are alchemists like me and Al. Those explosions aren't bombs; it's alchemy. And these people," he said, pointing to the ones with shadows entering their bodies, "they're not being killed by the shadows at all; they're _merging _with them."

Shocked, Winry stared at him in horror. "You mean…those people…are shadow alchemists?"

Edward nodded.

"How do you know all of that?"

He shrugged, looking at Alphonse. "It makes sense and merges with the history that we've read having to do with transmutation." He paused, taking the book back and closing it; resting his head on his hand. "Teacher told us about the books you guys have and how they're not allowed into regular alchemists' libraries anymore after 'what happened.'" He said, air quotes and all.

"We were curious, so we went and researched again about that time period and found nothing but information about transmutation and warnings against it, but now that we're here it makes sense." Edward paused, drumming his fingers on the book lightly. "The black tendrils associated with transmutation and the gate are what you refer to as the Seikatsu no Yami and is what it shows in this book attacking the people. But what I still don't understand is what _you_ control then. Is it some kind of domestic shadow of some sort?"

Edward stared out the window, intensely looking at the blackness outside; his eyes lost in thought as Winry continued to read the scribbled on piece of paper that Alphonse had handed her. She faintly heard the crinkling of pages and saw Alphonse quietly flipping through the old tattered book; mumbling to himself.

Suddenly, Alphonse perked up; digging in his pockets and setting down his own ice pack. Both Edward and Winry looked at him curiously, but said nothing. Finally with a triumphant cry, the younger Elric held up a dingy old letter and handed it over to Winry.

Flipping it over in her hands, she read the name scribbled on it aloud. "Balan." Sliding off his barstool to stand next to her, Edward nimbly slipped the paper from her hands and inspected it himself. Looking at Alphonse, Winry raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "And just where did you get that, Al?"

Alphonse looked down at his hands encasing his icepack and explained as well as he could the old woman he ran into on his way there. All three teenagers had equal looks of puzzlement on their faces as they processed the information when Edward let out a puff of air; drawing all eyes to him.

"Well, looks like there's only one way to find out." He declared, beginning to pull at the seal on the letter.

Quickly, Winry jerked the slip out of his hands; earning shocked looks from both boys. Remembering her past happenings with unknown letters, Winry shook her head. "You can't just open this. There could be a trap hidden inside."

Both Elrics looked at her as if she'd grown a third eye right smack in the middle of her forehead. Winry sighed, holding up the letter, "Look, we don't know who this is for—"

"What what is for?"

The new voice caused all three blondes to stiffen in the huddle they had formed in the kitchen and turn slowly around to face the unknown person.

Winry's lips flattened into a line and held up the letter to him as well, "This letter. We can't figure out who it belongs to. The lady who gave it to Al said this Balan person was here, but it's not anyone I know."

Realization flashed across Everett's face, but as quickly as it was there, it disappeared. "Oh. Give it to me; I'll give it to the right person."

As his hand reached for it, Winry jerked it back and tucked it into the waistband of her shorts and narrowed her eyes. "Who is it for?"

Edward and Alphonse both tensed, stepping up slightly to stand in front of her as Everett crossed his arms; the lights in the kitchen dimming as shadows danced around his body dangerously. "Why does it matter? " Turning to Alphonse, he narrowed his eyes, "Who gave it to you?"

"We don't answer your questions until you answer ours." Winry jumped in; not wanting Everett to intimidate Al into telling anything she could use to her advantage.

Everett looked at her for a long time and Winry gathered shadows behind Edward and Alphonse just in case they needed to be pulled back out of the way if the man in front of her lost his mind. Apparently thinking better of it, Everett sighed and leaned against the counter; allowing the lights to go back to their normal shine.

"Balan is a prince of hell; the demon of finesse and ruses."

Confused, Winry looked at him in disbelief, "So this woman wanted Alphonse to go to hell and deliver a message? I don't follow…"

Everett let out a bitter chuckle. "He wouldn't need to go that far, actually."

"Just tell us and stop dancing around the answer, god damnit!" Edward interrupted, slamming his fist into the counter beside him. Winry reached up and laid a hand on his shoulder; feeling the tensed muscles relax a bit and glared at the older man expectantly.

"Alright, alright calm down, little guy." He said, raising his hands in a surrendering gesture.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST—"

Alphonse's hand quickly slapped over his brother's mouth and slid his eyes to look at Everett expectantly. The older man pushed himself up to sit on the counter and spread his arms wide.

"I am Balan."

X

x

X

**Have I mentioned that I love you guys lately? Cuz I do.**

**Ohhhh snap! What's going on? **

**I know that this was probably one of those "Oh my god when is something exciting going to happen" chapters, but I needed to set up for the next chapter somehow and just leaping into all this and giving you guys some crappy short cut with it all just seemed unfair. It's kinda like those books where it's like, "girl sees guy, loves him, fight, make up, the end." No matter how satisfying when you feel all sentimental that is, I'm the kind of girl that likes a badass heroin who gets a guy and can act feminine (not all Helga-ish all the time) sometimes with a good adventure in it. **

**Oh.**

**By.**

**The. **

**Way. **

**The whole demon thing just kinda struck me out of the blue, so I took it and ran with it. (You'll see in the next couple of chapters. It's actually a pretty cool idea if I do say so myself) Just wanted to let you guys know that it's not….completely…random.**

**That said, this chapter was written between my revision of my other story, The Silent Experiment, during my two week vacation off of school. SO, this was quickly updated due to my ridiculous amount of free time at the moment, and I will try to get started on the next chapter before my prison called school sucks me back in. **

**ANYWAY thank you so much to jaclynkaileigh, Adorabubble, savanna1997, ReaderOfStories15 (I like your picture by the way. FMA for the win.), foxy sage (I hope that answers your question about Alphonse! He was being terrorized by an old woman), and otakgirlyy for reviewing. And to anyone else who story alerted or favorited, thank you! **

_**PLEASE REVIEW, IT GIVES ME MOTIVATION! **_


	12. Chapter 12: Angels and Demons

**Disclaimer: I own shadow alchemy and Gray and her crew, but not Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, Winry would be a badass. **

**Chapter Twelve: Angels and Demons**

The silence in the kitchen was still as everyone digested what they had just heard. Everett sat looking at them with a gleam in his eye as he saw the stares he was receiving and haughtily looked at Winry for her response.

Winry blinked at him and scoffed. "If you didn't have anything truthful to tell us, why make up something as bizarre as that?"

"Yeah, seriously. _You? _A prince of hell?" Edward said, leaning against the counter next to him and putting his chin in one hand lazily.

Everett's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "What? You don't believe me?"

Three pairs of skeptical gazes all informed him that they did not in fact, believe him.

The older man huffed irritably and gestured for them to follow him into the living room once again. After sharing a glance with Ed and Al, Winry followed after her obviously unstable teacher and watched in interest as he looked for a certain book on the bookshelf in front of them.

"Ah ha!" He mumbled, pulling a book off the shelf and moving to the living room beside the dwindling fire and flicking on lights on his way there. "You may not believe _me, _but never underestimate the power of a book." He said.

Everett pointed to the couch and held the book under his arm until all three of the teenagers sat down and he had their full attention. He set the book on the coffee table in front of them with the title face up and Winry let out a puff of air as she sank back into the cushions in defeat.

"More Latin. Yay." She drawled sarcastically.

The Elrics greedily snatched up the book and Edward flinched as he thumbed through it. "Is this some sort of demonology book?"

Intrigued, Winry sat up and rested her chin on his shoulder from behind; her eyes slightly widening at the images that she saw.

Fire, death, and contorted bodies. Overflowing piles of gold and gems surrounded them and never seemed to sate the creatures' greed. Her cerulean eyes scanned the contents of the script next to the graphic pictures and could only make out the words 'letum' and 'bona'—death and possession; neither of which sounded good to her.

Everett crossed his arms and looked at them intently. "Now, I have some things to do around the village in the few hours before sunset and the rain has stopped, so I'll leave you guys to translate and figure this out on your own. "

Grabbing the book he'd been reading by the fireplace and setting it back on the shelf, he turned to Winry as he pulled on his coat and placed his hand on the doorknob. "But remember, Winry,"

The girl looked at him fearfully at the warning in his voice over Edward's shoulder and raised her eyebrows slightly in question.

"Whatever you read; whatever you _see_ in that book, that doesn't change you or who you are. You are _Winry; _don't let some book tell you otherwise."

Winry nodded slightly but wasn't sure if he saw it as he stormed out the door without another word.

XxX

"This place is more beautiful than I remember." Gray said quietly; not wanting to stir the peaceful outside environment.

The village was built around an oasis that made up the backyard of the main building where the uppers lived. Colorful fish swam merrily in a shallow pond as the water trickled under the shade of the few trees swaying in the wind and the red headed woman breathed in the scents contently.

"Well Gray, you haven't been here since you were fifteen—and that was eight years ago." The elder replied, stepping onto the short bridge that crossed the small pond after his student.

"I never forgot this village, but I never came _here _in particular; you know that."

Maddox chuckled quietly as he leaned on the rail to look out over the multitude of fish frolicking below him and smiled to himself. "I do. You were always training. Always learning some new technique from anyone who would teach you and if no one was, you'd have your nose stuck in a book or isolated and meditating." He paused to pick a leaf off a near-by tree, "You were a very odd child."

Gray leaned back on her elbows to face the opposite direction of her teacher and watched the sun's rays as they danced on the wooden bridge in front of her. "I had to be."

"Alone and fighting?" He questioned, beginning to tear the leaf into strips. She nodded once. "You were never alone even if you wanted to be, Gray. I do seem to remember getting multiple complaints from many fathers that you wouldn't choose their son as your hozei senshi, hmm?"

The small smile on her face let him know that she did indeed remember. "And they had the most unusual ways of asking…"

Maddox sighed dramatically and allowed a few pieces of the leaf fall into the pond as he searched for a flower in the tree in front of him. "And of all people, you chose Everett Balan."

Gray shrugged, "He beat me."

Maddox shook his head as he sent out his shadows to pluck a particularly beautiful light pink flower off the tree that was slightly out of his reach. Yes, he remembered the day that his dear Gray had chosen to bond with that thick skulled hot head.

He also remembered trying to talk her out of it.

"Yes and no matter how hard I tried to convince you otherwise, the fact that he beat you in a fight was enough to impress you."

Gray turned to face his direction as well; turning her back on the setting sun, "Oh yes, let's completely throw away the fact that he was the strongest, fastest, smartest, and most sought after warrior at the time, sensei." She replied, cutting him a look out of the corner of her eye; her tone teasing.

_Finally. _He thought as his shadows slowly descended with the gentle flower and laid it in his hands. Maddox smiled at Gray in response to her teasing and title she gave him, extending the flower out to her.

Gray took the delicate object and placed it on the railing in front of her to peer thoughtfully at the tree now coated in the sun's orange rays. "The Yoshino Cherry Tree." She stated.

Taking a breath, she continued, "Some people believe that when a great warrior falls, their soul is reincarnated in the blossoms. It has often been associated with mortality due to the extreme beauty and quick death of the plant."

Maddox watched her in concern and heartbreak as she began to pick the leaves off the flower one by one and hold them in her palm. "Even falling cherry petals have some to represent the sacrifice of youth in suicide missions."

Gray watched as she tilted her hand to the side and let the petals fall into the rippling water to float beneath them. "How fitting." She whispered.

The older man tugged on her chin to turn her head so that he could see her face. "You know you don't have to do it—"

Gray's hand reached up and gently took his hand away from her face and gave it a gentle squeeze before letting it drop back to his side. Sighing, she fixed him with an intense stare. "And you know that no one else can do anything but me."

"You haven't found anything in your traveling? No rumors, no tests, no _anything_?" He asked, his eyes pleading.

She shook her head, "There has never been a case such as ours before, but that's of little consequence at the moment. My future is set. It's Winry that I'm worried about."

"And what of Everett?"

Gray looked away from his knowing eyes, "Everett can handle himself."

"He still does not know?"

"No." She bit out.

"Having such a secret between you and your bonded warrior must be hard."

When Gray made no response, Maddox sighed and began walking once again towards the household in front of them with her trailing closely after.

"And as for Winry, I will assess her condition when she fights in the tournament in some weeks. For now though, it seems as if she is doing alright in her new home, despite the fact that there are now two unwanted guests in my village…?"

Gray stiffened in anger at the thought of the two blonde haired intruders, "I would ask or make them leave, but I believe that would prove unfruitful given the fact that Winry grew up with the both of them and is closely bonded with them. She would most likely up and leave as well."

Maddox slid open the doors leading into the house and slipped off his shoes and waited as Gray did the same shortly after. A sliding noise to their left revealed an elderly woman behind one of the many hand decorated shoji doors in the home, a painter's pallet in one hand and a brush in the other. Their being there did not seem to shock the woman as she turned to slide the door shut behind her.

"Would you like some tea, Mastema-sama? Abaddon-sama?" She questioned, ignoring the grimace the red headed woman had on her face by being addressed in such a way.

Maddox nodded, "That would be nice, thank you. And as I've told you before, there is no need to call us by those names outside of meetings with the council, Abigail."

The old woman bowed, "As you wish. But I would like you to please call me by my name if that is not too much trouble."

Maddox smiled gently at her hunched figure shuffling to get the tea as Gray tried to look anywhere but the woman. She creeped her out.

"Of course, Abigar." He replied, showing Gray to a room up the stairs where a low set table was placed with cushions surrounding it and floor to ceiling windows covering the entirety of one of the walls.

Settling herself on one of the cushions, Gray looked out the window and scowled as Maddox slid the shoji shut.

He appraised her with humor etched on his face. "Still not too fond of our dear old Abigar, are you?"

"Please don't call her that. It's bad enough she tormented me as a child when I was here; always snatching up my tea cups so she could read the leaves at the bottom to tell me my future or grabbing my hand to read my palm." She muttered. "And always, always, _always _calling me by that _damned name." _

Maddox frowned as he took a seat across from her. "I know she can be intruding at times—"

"Try _all the time." _She muttered and the look on her sensei's face told her that he did not appreciate being interrupted. "Sorry." She said, sheepishly pulling at her hair.

"But she has been extremely useful and a valuable asset to our village. As for what she calls you Gray, whether you like it or not, that is just as much your name as Abaddon is part of you."

A shadow appeared behind the paper door and both teacher and student quieted as Abigar entered the room with a trey holding two tea cups and a kettle surprisingly steady in her grip. After placing them on the table, she bowed, "If there is anything else you may need, just summon me. And of course, if your lovely guest would like, the offer still stands for my fortune telling."

Gray's hands tightened around her teacup and tried to contain her fury. "No, thank you." She gritted out.

The woman nodded once as her lips tightened in disapproval and the fire haired woman watched her as she walked out the door, finally looking at her teacher when the steps were well down the stairs. Maddox frowned and sighed but let the subject drop. He knew better than to push her into telling him something he wanted to know.

After idly talking about what had happened to them over the months that she had been gone, they had risen from their seats at the table and were now enjoying the nighttime breeze through the open windows in content silence.

Suddenly Maddox broke the silence and blurted, "Whatever you choose to do Gray, make sure you do it for the right reasons and know that I love you like you were my child. No life is meaningless and fate can be changed."

Gray blinked at the touching words and looked at her teacher as her vision became blurry. She watched as his greying hair moved gently in the wind and his next words were almost lost to her from the breeze carrying away his whispered words.** "If the wind comes from an empty cave, it is not without a reason." (Meaning: Things don't happen for no reason; everything has a cause.)

"Sensei…"

Maddox turned to her; sadness making the slight wrinkles on his face deeper and making him appear older than his age. Pulling her close to his chest, he squeezed her slightly, and tried to ignore the fact that her body was shaking with the tears she shed.

XxX

Winry blinked in rapid succession to try and get herself to stay awake.

It had to be extremely late….or, early…?

Putting her elbow on her knee, she rested her chin in her palm and watched as the two machines (they couldn't be considered human anymore; no one works this hard without getting tired) continued to work over her coffee table now strewn with papers and books.

Winry pulled at the edge of her couch in annoyance. She had tried to help decipher and decode earlier, but the boys shooed her away; telling her that they had done this sort of thing many times before and that they had a _system_. No matter how much that infuriated her initially, she had to admit that after trying to translate a page of that stuff for an hour and only getting halfway through it, she was glad for the help of the two photographic memory jerks.

A growl suddenly sounded from one of their stomachs and though neither one of the boys acknowledged the fact that they were hungry, at least it gave her something to _do._ Winry got up from her perch on the couch, the bones in her legs snapping with the fact that she hadn't moved in a couple of hours and stretched; heading into the kitchen.

After checking the pantry and refrigerator, Winry smiled and grabbed the ingredients necessary for her soup. She placed the saucepan on the stove and began heating the water; tossing in the dashi granules and beginning to chop up the green onions on the side as she hummed softly to herself. Winry hadn't cooked for herself in a while now, and the movement gave her some much needed energy from being useless in the living room earlier.

Whatever it was in that book, she hoped that it was worth all the trouble.

Stirring the tofu and peppers into the concoction, Winry pulled out three bows and spoons from her cabinets and placed some of the miso soup in each. Putting all three on a trey, she padded back into the living room and was met with two hungry faces staring at her as she paused next to the table.

As if understanding her hesitation, the boys quickly cleared the table and snatched their bowls from the trey, eagerly digging in with gusto.

"If you guys were so hungry, why didn't you say something earlier?" She chided, reclaiming her position on the couch cross legged behind Edward, who was seated on the floor.

Both boys shrugged, not wanting to waste any breath that wasn't being used to eat with. Winry chuckled and continued to eat at a much more decent pace than the two practically inhaling their food.

The Elrics finished long before her and she picked up their bowls from where they discarded them half-hazardly to delve back into the book they were close to finishing translating and took them to the sink. She took her time cleaning knowing that they would still be entranced by the book when she returned to be ignored some more.

When she was done cleaning, Winry stopped by her room and grabbed a blanket from her bed and dragged it back to the couch. Stretching across the expanse of the piece of furniture, she took the band out and played with Edward's hair as he and Alphonse continued to work and her eyes began to droop dangerously low.

Her hands stroked the soft pieces of hair and got a slight thrill whenever she would accidentally brush his neck and goosebumps would appear there. Smiling in content, Winry's blinking became slower until finally, they stayed shut.

XxX

Edward's eyes widened at what he'd just read.

_All shadow alchemist's are mixed with demons. Some are more prominent than others and will live longer than the average human and are able to withstand larger amounts of pain. The weaker demons typically do not unlock their human's abilities; only very powerful demons show in the form of either shadows or, very rarely, possession. _

Alphonse looked up from the final passage he had left translate in the book to see why his brother had stopped shuffling around papers and was currently staring blankly at the notes in front of him. "What's the matter, brother?"

Edward closed his eyes and set the papers down; thankful that Winry was deep asleep on the couch behind him so she didn't read over his shoulder. "He wasn't lying…" He muttered.

His younger brother finished translating the passage and closed the book softly, stacking the papers neatly in a pile on the corner of the table and reaching out to grab the one Edward was currently clutching his his hands. When he refused to allow him to see it, Alphonse huffed in anger.

"Look, whatever it says it—it doesn't matter. Winry is still _our_ Winry. Now, let me see it."

Edward looked up from the floor at his younger brother steadily and rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. "Sit down Al, I need to explain to you what I think I know so far."  
Nodding, the boy glanced at the floor and scowled. "Shouldn't we wake up Winry? And do we really have to sit on the floor still? I'm sore…" He complained, rubbing his backside in annoyance.

"No, we can't tell Winry this; she would never be okay with herself again." He replied as he scanned the room for a surface to sit on that wasn't the floor. His eyes found only the couch, but that was impossible unless they wanted to sit on Winry. He didn't want to leave her alone out there, as stupid as that sounded, and he felt it would be extremely awkward to just crash on her bed without her knowledge.

As he opened his mouth to voice these thoughts, he promptly snapped it shut as he watched Alphonse lift the slumbering Winry's feet and settle himself on the couch as he laid them in his lap. Anger bubbled in his chest. "What are you _doing?_" He hissed.

His younger brother looked at him with a cocked eyebrow and a slight smirk on his lips, "I'm finding a seat that isn't on the floor. Please, feel free to remain there if you're too scared to touch her."

Edward narrowed his eyes and stood from his position propped against the couch, "I am not _scared_ to touch her. I just don't want to wake her up!" He snapped.

Alphonse made a noncommittal grunting noise in the back of his throat and rolled his eyes, making a production at making himself comfortable.

"Fine." Edward ground out marching to where her head was and hesitating. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alphonse shadowing the movement of picking her head up sitting down and placing her head on his chest, patting it affectionately.

The golden haired boy narrowed his eyes and promptly ignored his younger brother's antics; deciding to focus on the blonde sleeping instead. Gently, he pulled the pillow out from under her head and kept her propped up with his other arm as he slid under her still slumbering form.

Edward let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding as he slumped into the couch and Winry shifted her head slightly to get more comfortable on his chest. He smiled softly down at her peaceful expression and pulled a few stray strands away from her face, but his thoughts immediately turned to what he just read and his eyes darkened.

Grateful once again for her unconscious state, he gently held her shoulder closer as he explained to Alphonse in a quiet voice what he'd learned, each comparing notes to piece together the story.

"So, I was right…" Edward muttered, scrubbing his free hand across his face in anguish. "The shadows in that book we read first for Winry weren't just shadows with thoughts from somewhere else. They were being _controlled_."

"But didn't she already tell you that? The seikatsu no yami?"

Edward nodded, "But this is not the same." He sighed and pulled his hand through her hair comfortingly. "They…the ones with prominent blood are different. Just like with humans, there are the weak and the strong. When there is a powerful demon linked to someone, that person has abilities others don't have—shadows and possession among other things. Usually, the host of the creature knows at a certain age who he or she is bonded with if its power is prominent enough."

Alphonse looked at his older brother with shock evident in his eyes, "So…so Winry is a…a…"

"Yeah," He replied, stroking her hair affectionately and holding her a little tighter against his chest, "Winry is a demon."

XxX

"Well, someone's a little irritable this fine morning."

"Shut _up, _Everett." Winry snarled; blocking the arm headed for the side of her head and moving to palm strike his nose with her other hand.

Quickly, he dodged into a backbend and flipped, aiming to kick her in the chin with the back of his heel but she was faster. Grabbing his foot, Winry twisted and heard a satisfying snap as she popped his ankle out of place. Everett grunted in pain, but used this to catch her off guard as he smashed her with the bottom of his other boot square in the face, making her release his other foot from her hold.

As Winry clutched her rapidly swelling cheek, Everett put some distance between them and reached down to his foot; grabbing it and jerking it back into place with a grimace. He was only able to fully test its stability once before the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps could be heard and he quickly rolled to the left; getting a mouth full of sand but not really caring because Winry seemed to be _incredibly _pissed today.

Winry growled as she missed her target once again and created a crater in the ground instead. Standing, she sped over to where he flipped and slid into the sand with her foot extended and _finally_ succeeded in knocking her teacher in the shoulder and throwing him to the ground on his back with her elbow while he was off balance. With a maniacal smile on her face, she stood straddling his waist with her feet as she prepared to finish him off.

Using this to his advantage, Everett quickly sat up and threw his palm against her knee and heard a cracking noise; bending it the wrong way and seizing her other leg. He twisted his upper body towards her good leg and used his leverage to throw her to the ground as their positions were reversed. However, instead of making the same mistake she had, he pinned all of her limbs to the ground with his as she struggled underneath him.

He waited for her to stop moving and give up, but her eyes were resolutely closed with an angry expression marring her face. Everett frowned as he noticed that shadows were beginning to gather beneath them and curl around his limbs.

"Winry! We agreed no shadows in this spar!" He chided as he struggled against the pressure on his arms from the stringy tendrils.

Everett scowled when he got no response from the girl, and opened his mouth to warn her before he used his own shadow as a defense, but was cut off as a blast of energy slammed into his chest and he was thrown away from her. He looked down at his charred shirt with wide eyes for a split second and leapt to his feet when he saw Winry approaching once again.

Gathering his shadows behind him and into his hands, he backed away a step from the furious girl. "Winry, that's enough. I don't want to hurt you…"

The girl paused in her path and blinked multiple times in shock, turning her mouth down in a frown. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Everett narrowed his eyes at her, evaporating the weapons behind him but still holding the darkness in his hands as a precautionary measure. "Tell you what?"

Winry sighed and flopped on the ground; her sweat making the grains of sand stick to her skin uncomfortably but she didn't really care at the moment. Picking up the sand and running it through her fingers absentmindedly as she panted from the exertion, she looked up at him with betrayal in her eyes.

"Last night you gave us that book and the boys finished translating it." She began as Everett dropped the last of his shadows and took a seat next to the girl, slightly surprised that they finished it so quickly. He'd expected at least a couple of days to work up to telling her.

"They thought I was asleep," Winry continued quietly, "But I heard everything they said. That I…I'm a demon…"

The man nodded as he began healing the multiple wounds on his body and watching as she did the same. "We are all _part_ demon, but like I said, that doesn't change who _you_ are, Winry."

"So that's why you're all named after a demon?"

He grunted in the affirmative.

Winry paused as she picked at her shorts and avoided his eyes, "Who am I mixed with?"

"You'll need to ask crazy old Abigar that, blondie."

Both people snapped their heads up at the new voice and were met with fire red hair as Gray inspected them both as they lay sprawled out on the ground. "You two look like hell."

Scowling, they both stood up and tried to brush off the sand that stuck to them and Everett rubbed at his chest where Winry had burned away his shirt. Gray raised her eyebrows in question, but Everett waved her off as he began to trek back to his house to shower and change. "Don't you two have somewhere to be?" He asked over his shoulder.

Gray rolled her eyes and turned to Winry, "We have to register you for the tournament today. You'd better go home and—"

"No!" Winry yelled, almost making Gray jump out of her skin in shock.

"And why not? I thought you agreed to become a warrior for the village…" She trailed off as Winry shook her head halfway through her sentence.

The girl looked sheepishly down at her hands, "I don't want to go back to my house…"

Winry clearly remembered the past night and anger flashed through her all over again. The boys had been unaware that she was awake through their whole little conversation and probably still would be, if she hadn't practically leapt off the couch like it had suddenly caught fire. Unable to look either one of them in the eye, she ran quickly to her room and locked the door.

She was well aware that either one of the two boys could have leveled the door with their pinkie if they wanted, but she guessed that her angry shouts from behind it was enough to keep them at bay. Winry had spent the night crying alone in her bedroom without caring that they could probably heard her and ignoring Edward's pleas for her to open the door.

When she woke up from her groggy two hours of sleep, she rolled off her bed and tip toed into her living room to get out the front door only to see that Alphonse had stretched himself across the couch and that Edward was propped against the wall next to her door as he snored lightly.

Resisting the urge to kick the both of them in the head while she had the upper hand, Winry slipped out the door and picked a fight with the first person she came in contact with.

Who just so happened to be Everett, and it turned out he wasn't having such a hot day either.

"The boys might still be there." Winry deadpanned.

Gray paused and narrowed her eyes at her student. Just as Winry was about to beg on her hands and knees, Gray shrugged. "Fine. You can come to my house. I probably have some clothes that will fit you, but then we sign you up and I train you into the ground until you beat every single one of these pip squeaks, Barbie."

Winry gulped.

As they began to walk to Gray's house, the older woman suddenly snapped and stopped in her tracks. "I can't believe I forgot!" The woman shouted, grabbing Winry by the arm and pulling her along faster.

"What? Why are we rushing?" Winry puffed as she tried to keep up with her teacher.

Gray didn't answer until she had dragged her to the house and made her shower while she picked out some clothes of hers to wear. Shoving her into a white V-neck and short distressed shorts that fit her surprisingly well, Gray dragged her back out into the heat and pulled her to a stop in front of one of the largest buildings in the village with a florish.

Winry pinned her hair back in a clip as she inspected the building. Boys teemed out of the building in groups as they spoke with each other or read on benches and Winry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "And you brought me to a frat house…why?"

Gray chuckled quietly. "It's not a frat house, Winry. It's a training school for the hozei senshi. I completely forgot; you need to pick one before you are eligible for the tournament."

"A…what?"

"A bonded warrior. Like Everett is to me."

Winry's mouth gaped open as she tried to wrap her head around the fact that she would be connected to some stranger soon. "So, how long do I have to choose one? Two weeks? A month…?"

"One day."

X

x

X

**So much going on in this chapter but I feel like nothing was accomplished and that this story is going painfully slow for my readers **** What do you guys think? Should I speed it up or just keep going as I have been? **

**So I updated pretty fast, huh huh? **

**Thank you to everyone who continues to support this story and who favoried or story alerted at any time! To everyone who reviewed a BIG thanks to you: Shadow's Painting, jaclynkaileigh, Shirraz78, , and guest. **

**I would really like more opinions on my story, though so please REVIEW after this chapter; midterms are next week and I need something to motivate me through all that brain power!**


	13. Chapter 13: Hozei Senshi

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, but I do own shadow alchemy and all the mush along with it. **

**Chapter 13: Hozei Senshi**

"What about that one?"

"No."  
"What about him? At least he's slightly attractive…"

"No way."

"And him?"

"Maybe he has a good personality."

"Argh, Winry just _pick_ _one_ god damnit!"

The two women were currently standing in the lunch room of the school on the second level reserved only for teachers and distinguished guests, which Gray just so happened to be, and searching for someone for Winry to talk to.

"How do you plan on finding a hozei senshi when you won't even get up and _speak_ to one of them?" Her teacher demanded.

Winry shrugged and leaned against the railing to peer over the edge of the second floor and onto the first. It was just like any typical high school, minus girls. There were the smart kids, quiet kids, loud and obnoxious kids, jocks, anything that was in a normal school—it was here.

Except, she was pretty sure all these kids could kill each other with a spoon if they wanted to.

"Because I can't just judge someone on looks alone!"

The red head rolled her eyes. "Then go down there and talk to them."

Winry sighed and ignored the twisting feeling in her gut. She hated having so much attention on her. Especially when it would all be random guys attention. Plus, didn't she have a boyfriend? Well, she knew that they'd never really talked about it, but she figured it was implied, not that she was an expert on relationships; she'd probably had all of about one and that was when she was about twelve, so that doesn't even count and—

"Hey."

Winry blinked and looked around for Gray in confusion. She could have sworn that the voice that had just called out to her was a boy, but then again maybe it was because she was totally zoned out. She couldn't see her teacher or the source of the voice anywhere and she got on her tip toes to search for her above the heads of the many teachers littering the second floor.

"Hey. Are you lost?"

Snapping to attention again, Winry swung around on her heel and almost broke her nose on the face of the guy currently standing in front of her. Cursing her clumsy behavior and pretending that it had never happened, she narrowed her eyes at the boy and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"Are you the one that called out to me just a second ago?"

"Um," The boy said, raising a rather amused and arrogant eyebrow at her, "Yeah, but you didn't see me. I was on the first floor and I saw you looking around. Why are you here?"

His brusque nature threw Winry off guard for a moment and she stood there staring at him in disbelief. He was certainly good looking, but not in a generic way. The boy had thick shaggy white hair that seemed to get in his right eye a lot due to his hairstyle and light grey eyes that would make any girl swoon, but the way he stood just screamed arrogance and power. Winry was sure that he was strong, but surely she'd want someone a little more…low key, right?

She opened her mouth to answer him when he interrupted her.

"You certainly don't look like much, that's for sure. I hope you're not looking for a hozei senshi here. You'd probably have better chances over at the other school. It's smaller, but they have lower expectations there and—"

The rest of his sentence was lost to the air whistling out of his lungs as Winry landed her hit to his stomach and his book he had been holding dropped to the floor. She had not moved a muscle and instead had opted to not waste her energy on him and just use her alchemy.

As he went to stand, Winry pinned him to the ground with her shadows and continued to look at him with a detached expression on her face. For his part, the boy didn't look worried at all and instead of struggling against the bonds, he laid there and looked at her expectantly.

"Well, now that you've got me all tied up and beat, what do you plan—"

"Shut up." She sighed indifferently. His sarcasm was most unappreciated at the moment and she was not in the mood to be pleasant Winry today after everything that had been happening.

The boy's face scrunched up distastefully at her command but stayed silent as he continued to glare daggers at her even when she turned her attention to look over the railing again at the boys below; oblivious to the happenings above them.

Bored with the constant sea of black, brown and occasional blonde haired boys below her, she turned her attention to the guy who had now seemed to have decided that the wall was more interesting than she was.

"Why is your hair white?" She asked, genuinely curious about the answer.

"My hair is white?" He asked in mock horror, his eyes widening as he blinked at her owlishly.

Winry huffed and dismissed her shadows holding him to the ground as she began to pass him to descend the stairs leading to the ground floor. "Fine then, be that way."

Suddenly, Winry was thrown in to a wall and was being held there by the boy's body about halfway down the stairs. A small dagger was at the base of her throat and she looked into her attacker's deathly pale gaze with a smug expression as she tapped her own metal dagger against the inside of his leg.

The boy seemed impressed and satisfied as he let her go and slid the hidden weapon away once again. Winry slowly did the same with a wary expression.

"What was that for, you egotistical ass?" She demanded, scowling at him angrily.

The white haired boy smirked and shoved his hands in his pockets; the image of relaxation and confidence. He shrugged, "I figured Gray's student couldn't be a complete failure."

He turned around without looking at her and began descending the stairs before she could retaliate to the jab to her ego. Lifting a hand in a lazy wave, he continued to walk until he was out of her sight. Winry seethed and was about to go after him to knock him down a level when she felt the stares of many eyes on her.

Glancing around, she realized that their little show had gained the entire school's attention.

Winry flushed in embarrassment and tried to make her way to the front door when she heard someone call out her name.

"Winry! Hey wait up, where are you going?"

The blonde girl stiffly turned, the voice calling out to her being the only sound in the room and narrowed her eyes. "Do I know you?" She said quietly, trying to attract less attention to herself but realizing that she was fighting a losing battle when whispers began around the eating area.

A dark blonde boy walked toward her but stopped about a foot away when she voiced her question. He chuckled nervously, "Oh yeah, you probably don't remember me. I'm Ezekiel. You know, from a couple of days ago…?"

Realization dawned across her face, "Oh yeah, I do remember you. You punched Everett." She deadpanned.

Ezekiel blushed and looked around, relieved when he saw that almost everyone had decided that this conversation wasn't going to be very entertaining and had gone back to whatever they'd been doing before.

He turned back to Winry, "Yeah, sorry about that. I just…uh, well we go back a ways. I'm sure Everett will explain to you when he wants."

Winry nodded and silence fell between them. She opened her mouth to tell him that she was going to go in search of Gray when he spoke over her.

"So I see you've met Michael. He's a ray of sunshine, isn't he?"

Winry scoffed and followed him outside to the patio area where a couple of boys milled around aimlessly.

Ezekiel smiled over his shoulder at her and led her over to the shade of a tree where she sat against the base to keep a lookout for anyone who caught her eye.

"Don't mind him; he's like that to everyone, though all of the other hozei senshi respect him for it."

"I don't see why. He's just a jerk." She rolled her eyes.

Ezekiel laughed and plucked a few blades of grass off the ground. "Yeah, but he's stronger than the rest of us. Probably the rest of us combined."

The blonde looked at him wide-eyed. "Seriously?" She smirked and sarcastically rubbed her nails on her shoulder, "Well, I must be stronger than I thought because I held him down with my…what? Why are you laughing?"

Ezekiel wiped his eyes as he flopped back on the grass. "He was letting you do that. I guess he didn't want to cause a scene. Why _are_ you here anyway? You never answered that."

Her pride slightly wounded, she looked down at him with a scowl, "What? Did I miss the no girls allowed sign out front? If you _must_ _know_, I have to pick out a hozei senshi by the end of the day so I can compete in the tournament."

Ezekiel sat up to look at her with a serious expression. "Gray's rushing you into that now?"

"Well," she blinked at the intensity of his gaze, "it's not like I have much of a choice. The timing was bad I guess, but it's not her fault."

He nodded, "That's true, but bonding is a very serious aspect of our lives as Shadow Alchemists. You can't just pick _anyone_."

"Well, can I pick you?"

Ezekiel nearly fell over in shock, "Me?! No no no, I can't…"

Winry scowled and sighed, falling back against the trunk of the large tree. "Sorry I suck so bad then that you don't want to be paired with me. You're just the only one I know…"

The boy flailed his arms around in front of her wildly, "No, it's not that! It's just…I…I'm kinda already paired up."

"Oh! Well why didn't you say so? It's okay Ezekiel, I didn't know."

The boy looked up to her and smiled sadly, "No, you didn't."

Winry watched his expression in confusion. Why was he so sad about his partner?

Just as she was about to ask him what was wrong, he leapt to his feet and dusted himself off, "Well, I better go. Watch out for Michael; his looks aside, he can be very dangerous. Those narrow eyes see much more than we do." Bowing slightly, Ezekiel marched across the grassy yard and out of her sight. After a few minutes of sitting alone and feeling like a stalker watching the boys in the field, the blonde girl leaned further down the tree and settled in.

_Alone again_. She thought, closing her eyes and enjoying the sun across her face through the shade of the softly swaying leaves. _I wonder where Gray had disappeared to._

"Sleeping on the job? I think that's frowned upon here."

Winry frowned as she opened her eyes slightly to peer at the white haired boy slouched next to her and slid them shut once again. "Don't you have some butterfly you have to rip the wings off of or something?" she mumbled.

"Picking on defenseless creatures? You wound me."

Sighing, she opened her eyes fully and sat up to glare at him as he stood before her, hands in his pockets and hair gently blowing in the wind as he stared down at her. "What do you want?"

He shrugged, "I just so happened to overhear your conversation with our dear prophet and wondered if you would like to have your problem fixed."

"I swear if you offer to escort me to the other school where they have 'lower expectations' I will throttle you so hard your children will hurt, _Michael_." She threatened, putting a sarcastic drawl on his name to let him know that she knew his name without his knowledge and he didn't know hers.

The exotic boy scowled, "That's what he told you my name was? That little bastard…" He trailed off, scanning the area for him menacingly.

Winry scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion, "That's not your name?"

He looked back down at her and she realized for the first time how small and narrow his eyes were. The image made him seem even more menacing. "No. It's Samnu."

"Are you foreign?"

"Aren't we all?"

Winry perused her lips in frustration and said nothing more. She expected the boy to get the hint and go away, but instead plopped down on the ground in front of her.

"Bond with me." He said suddenly.

Winry's head snapped up from where she was watching a couple of boys spar and stared wide eyed at him as he looked back at her evenly.

"I…what?"

He looked at her as if she hadn't progressed past the mindset of a kindergartener. "I _said_—"

"I know what you said. But…why?" She asked stupidly at she gaped at him.

Samnu glanced up at her through his silver lashes piercingly, "Don't tell me you haven't noticed." Looking at her blank expression with exasperation, he stood and sighed dramatically towards the sky. "Fight me."

"Fight you." She deadpanned, looking up at him sarcastically. "Sorry, but I kinda have something to do a little more important than getting my face beaten in, but thanks for the off—"

"If I win, you bond with me, if I lose, I'll help you the rest of the day with whatever you want me to do." He stated as he walked away from her, not concerned in the least as to whether or not she followed.

After a second of hesitation, Winry scrambled to her feet and jogged after him. "Hey! Hey, I never agreed or anyth—ah! What are you doing?!"

Winry leapt out of the way just as a crater the size of her body erupted next to her. Coughing at the dirt it kicked up, she barely had time to react as Samnu charged her from behind. The blonde girl twisted her body around and blocked the shot aimed at her lower back; using her leverage to try and kick him in the head with a roundhouse kick.

White hair danced out of her line of vision as her kick met with only air and his shadows grasped her waist; tossing her into the air like a ragdoll. Winry shook her head to rid herself of the shock of being sparred with against her will and focused on winning. She'd be damned if she had to bond with someone for life against her will.

Pulling shadows out of the trees below her, she created a hand that she used to grab herself out of the air and away from Samnu's grasp; bringing her to the ground gently.

The boy landed on his feet a couple of feet away from her and put his hands back in his pockets as he regarded her with a critical eye. "You'll have to fight harder than that in order to win. If that was your best, you're weaker than I originally thought."

Snarling, Winry called her shadows into her hands and surrounded her body with a shield of them. "You're going to wish you didn't say that."

"I'm trembling."

XxX

Edward awoke to the sound of his brother's soft breathing and nothing else. He quickly jerked himself to his feet and searched the house for Winry, who was nowhere to be found.

The older Elric placed his hand against his forehead in frustration. The guilt was eating at him for underestimating Winry once again and not being able to be there for her when she was sad or in pain. Having to hear her sobs through the door and not being able to do anything about it crushed him and made him truly feel like an ass.

She had screamed at them and told them that she didn't want to be around them any longer, but Edward knew she didn't mean any of it and forgave her the second she said them. However the same could not be said for the two brothers in her eyes.

He had sat outside her door in the hopes that when she stopped crying, she would unlock the door and he could go in her room to apologize to her, but her sobs outlasted his ability to stay awake and he fell asleep before he could help her.

Stomping around the kitchen and slamming cupboards in his anger at the unfairness of life, he hadn't realized that Alphonse had woken up and was watching him with amusement in his eyes.

Edward whirled around with a murderous expression on his face that was slightly downgraded by the mouthful of cereal in his mouth and Alphonse fixed his brother with a pitying stare.

"She's not mad at us, you know; Winry's probably just a little shocked is all."

Edward regarded his brother with an annoyed look and swallowed before replying, "Did you not hear what she called us, Al? Oh yeah, I believe it was somewhere along the lines of 'secret keeping thick skulled assholes'." He stated bluntly, tossing the bowl into the sink and heading to the door.

"Where are you going?" Al called from the kitchen doorway.

"To find Winry."

After the door closed behind him, Al sighed and shook his head. _Well_, he thought as he looked around dejectedly_, I guess I better go do something to keep my mind occupied as well._

Al gathered his jacket with the key to his and Ed's temporary house in it and made his was around to scout out the village.

XxX

Winry panted as she clutched her side in pain at the broken ribs she was sure resided there and watched with satisfaction as Samnu wiped the blood away from a rather large slash she had made on his face earlier. Both teenagers glared at each other from across the now scarred clearing from their many missed and hit strikes at each other; neither one willing to back down.

The white haired boy shot her a feral grin and solidified a dozen shirukin, tossing them at her halfheartedly and making her to dodge them while he ran behind them to try and end this match quickly. It had been a long time since he had had such an exhilarating fight, but he wanted to hurry up and finish her now; he was beginning to feel the pricks of exhaustion.

Winry narrowed her eyes and leapt up to avoid the weapons and created a sword to block the rest. The two shadow alchemists met after she dodged the hail of objects tossed her way; easily picking him out behind all of the shirukin because of his white hair.

Samnu quickly created twin blades in haste to block her rapier aimed straight for his face once again. That other wound was due to a lucky shot from one of the hundreds of daggers she shot at him earlier. How she managed to conjure that many at one time was beyond him, but he didn't dwell on it long for fear that she would use his distraction to go in for the kill.

"Just…give up…already…" He gritted through his teeth.

Winry glared at him menacingly through the inch they had between their faces. "No!" She growled.

Suddenly, Winry got an idea. It was stupid and it was reckless, but she was ninety nine percent positive that it would work.

Ignoring the painful thudding in her heart telling her that it was a bad idea, Winry pressed harder against the blades Samnu held with her body and leaned in closer to him. Shock barely registered on his face at her proximity before Winry smashed her lips onto his.

His hands loosened on the hilts of his swords in shock and Winry used this to her advantage, changing her sword into a hammer and bashing it against his head, punting him across the clearing. Before he had time to react in his dazed state, the blonde girl pounced on him and chained him to the tree in front of her.

Winry cried out triumphantly and jumped in the air with glee as she turned towards the crowd they'd gathered and immediately spotted her none-too-happy red headed teacher. Gray stood still with her arms crossed in the swarm of cheering students and shook her head in disappointment. Winry frowned; couldn't she see that she had won?

Gray uncrossed one arm and pointed up.

Confused, Winry barely had time to register the rustling leaves above her before she was flat on her back with Samnu laid out on top of her; pinning her down.

"But…but…" She stuttered, looking at the tree with a still limp Samnu trapped against it and then back at the grinning white haired boy in shock.

"It's a double, see?" He said smugly, making her watch as his double melted away into shadow and her chains fell limply to the ground, disintegrating soon after. "I win."

Winry's mouth gaped and Samnu leaned in close to her ear, his hot breath tickling her throat. "And that was a dirty trick," he whispered so that only she could hear, "I'll get you back for that one."

The blonde was suddenly all-too-aware of their current position on the ground and began to struggle to get up when his weight was suddenly absent from her body.

"And just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Edward demanded, holding Samnu by the back of his collar and tossing him to the ground.

"Edwar—"

"Nothing you would understand, you disgusting _state_ _alchemist_." Samnu spat, nimbly hopping to his feet and coolly regarding the furious blonde boy in disdain.

A ripple went through the crowd gathered and Winry watched as they all looked to each other with varying emotions etched on their faces. Some had shock or awe while most others held hate or anger on their features. Her heart clenched painfully in fear for Ed as she stood to try and get between the two before anything could happen.

Distantly, Winry wondered why Gray wasn't doing anything but didn't put much more thought into it and decided to focus on the matter at hand.

Edward bristled in anger, "And what part of that would I not understand?" He hissed.

Samnu scoffed but did not deem it necessary to continue the conversation, instead turning to Winry and raising an elegant eyebrow. "Coming?"

She looked to Edward, but all she gained from this was a pang in her heart from the betrayed look in his eyes that told her that he had seen everything she had done. Winry opened her mouth and reached out for his arm, but he was faster and maneuvered out of her reach.

"Edward wait, please! I—I—you know it didn't mean anything!"

Finally, he stopped in his path to leaving her and turned around with a look that she had never had directed at her before; hurt.

"I don't know _anything_ about you anymore, do I? You go around making those who want to protect you feel _guilty_ about the fact that they want to shield you and then you _kiss_ whoever makes you angry?" He shook his head and looked away from her angrily, "You want to be so immersed in this society and these…these _things_ you call people then fine, Al and I will get out of your way and let you be with them, but don't expect us to be waiting for you when they abandon you."

Her heart beat painfully against her chest in anger and despair. Winry watched with tear filled eyes as Edward marched stiffly into their audience and parted the crowd in front of her without even a glance back.

Winry's shoulders slumped in disgust at what she had just done. Tears began to slide down her cheeks as she stared disdainfully at the ground in front of her feet. How could she have been so stupid and childish? What made her think that that was a good idea? All she had wanted was the freedom to choose who would be her bonded warrior!

A hand came down on the small of her back, but she didn't need to look up to know who it was. "Alright, show's over! Go back to your playground toys boys and girls."

Winry sniffed miserably and glanced at her savior through the shield of her bangs, "You didn't have to do that, you know."

Samnu wore a thoughtful expression as he watched the dispersing crowd, "No I didn't, but I did, so let's not dwell." He stated, throwing a smirk her way which both comforted and infuriated her.

"Don't worry about metal brain anyway; he called us _things_ for God's sake. What a guy." He drawled sarcastically.

Winry wiped at the tears staining her cheeks once more and looked to the noon sky as she blinked to clear her eyes—she was crying way too much lately, she decided. She tried to gide the small smile that graced her lips at the condescending tone Samnu held for the boy who broke her heart, but she was sure he'd noticed from the small scoff she heard from him. Putting her hands on her hips, the blonde girl breathed out a puff of air to the clouds and made her decision.

"Alright." She said, looking down and locking blue with grey as she stared at her exotic white haired companion.

He blinked, "Alright what? Alright as in that was a fragment of a sentence and you meant to say that you're alright or—"

"Alright I'll bond with you!" She snapped, not wanting to hear his tirade—no matter how amusing it was.

Samnu appeared shocked for a moment, but confident smugness soon reigned over his facial features as he shoved his hands in his pockets once again and smiled a genuine smile at her for the first time. The boy walked towards her, his hair swaying gently in the wind as he extended his hand to her.

"Then let me show you the way."

X

x

X

**OH THE ANGST.**

**Okay, so I know that you're probably like 'What the hell, chaos? What was the point of this chapter?!' Weeellll, mostly it was for the hozei senshi and I was going to include the bonding ceremony, but that was just waaay too long, so you guys will have that to look forward to next time, right, right?**

**Don't hate me. **

**I hope you guys liked it and Samnu! OH OH OH and I couldn't figure out a way to put this in the story without it being totally out of nowhere, but Samnu is Asian and has white hair (he's not old, I'll explain his hair color later) and is tall and muscular. He also speaks Japanese, which if you watched or read the anime subbed, is like duh, but if you watched it in English dubbed (like me) it's…uh….different.**

**I updated pretty quick this time, though it probably would have been longer if not for the fact that I would feel guilty because the next chapter will probably take a while to come out….**

**I finally got around to posting my bio by the way so check it out if you want to. **

**Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW! **

**Thank you to jaclynkaileigh, guest, Shirraz78, Hinata-chan33 aaand guest (again? lol) for reviewing! **


	14. Chapter 14: Beelzebub

**Chapter 14: Beelzebub**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist but I do own shadow alchemy. **

***100 REVIEWS! THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU GUYS***

_Home sweet home. _Alphonse thought sarcastically as he looked around the tiny one bedroom house they were given. It certainly wasn't much compared to the housing that Winry was granted for just one person as compared to two, but he figured it was due to the fact that they were part of the "them" instead of part of the "us."

The home had a layer of dust on the scarce furniture they were given which included a couch and table in the living room along with a tiny empty bookshelf, a kitchen with one tiny pot in it and only adorned with plates, the world's shabbiest bathroom and a twin sized bed for the two boys. Not to mention the entire house smelled of some dead animal coated in mildew.

Alphonse sighed and put his hands on his hips in the middle of the living room. He wondered if Edward had found Winry yet and what they were up to that it was taking him so long to come back. He'd left a note on the front door of Winry's house telling his brother where he was going and to meet him there when he could, but there was no word from him yet.

Shrugging, Alphonse dug around in the closet in the bedroom for some rags (which weren't hard to find, that was pretty much what the entire closet was full with anyway) and threw open the windows as he got to work cleaning their home.

A few moments passed by as Al thought of home and Pinako while he cleaned and whistled to himself when a knock on the door made him pause. He hadn't heard anyone approach and unless he was completely deaf, with the windows open, he should have heard their footsteps on the wooden porch outside.

Alphonse set down the rag and spray bottle and crept towards the door. He still wasn't very comfortable in this village and he knew for sure that this wasn't Edward because his brother wouldn't have knocked.

He began to turn the knob when the person knocked again more insistently and his eyebrows scrunched in annoyance. Couldn't they see that he was coming?

Alphonse threw open the door came face to face with the same little old woman who had asked him to give Balan that letter the other day. The boy frowned as his eyes trailed past the short and hunched woman to see that another person was present. Anne's older sister, if he remembered correctly.

"Hello Alphonse, dear. Care to let an old woman in to sit down?" Abigar croaked.

Still mute, Alphonse nodded and opened the door wider to allow the two entrance. Abigar shuffled in but refused any help from the young Elric when he offered his arm to her. The younger girl around his brother's age did not even look at him as she passed his form and leaned against the wall on the other side of the room.

Abigar saw Alphonse's expression as she sank into his small and now clean couch. "Don't worry about Cynthia here. She just doesn't take kindly to strangers and neither does her other half."

Alphonse warily watched the young girl out of the corner of his eye. Her black curls seemed to be alive with shadow and her eyes were unwavering as they glared holes into his head. The young Elric shifted uncomfortably as he stood before the two women.

"Her…um, her other half?" He inquired, tearing his gaze away from the mysterious and freaky girl and focusing on the older woman.

"Yes," she nodded. "Her demon half, Sonnillon. He is the demon of hate. I am actually surprised that she can keep it in check as well as she can. The last person who had him inhabit their body…wasn't so fortunate as to have her control."

Alphonse looked fearfully at Cynthia once again. The girl's hair seemed to bunch up in tight curls for a moment before Abigail cleared her throat and the girl's eyes flickered over to her, her shadows receding from reaching away from her body.

Cynthia looked at Alphonse for the first time without hate flooding her eyes. "My apologies." Closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again, she kicked off the wall and marched past him to the door, where she disappeared outside.

"You aren't going to offer me any tea?"

"I—uh thought you wanted to speak with m—"

"Tea first." She demanded.

Ripping his attention away from the now closed door, Alphonse scrambled to the kitchen and dug through the still dusty cabinets until he found some tea leaves in a bag and set some water to boil with the one tiny pot he had in his possession.

After making a cup for both himself and his intrusive guest, he walked back to his small living room and set them on the table, taking a seat on the floor across from her. The old woman merely stared at him until he took a large gulp from the cup and she finally took a small sip herself.

When he finished drinking the entire thing in awkward silence, figuring that she would not speak until they finished, the old woman spoke, nearly making him flinch with the sudden noise.

"Now, for the reason I'm here." The elder woman proclaimed, standing from the couch with him doing the same and walking to where she was directly before him under his chin.

Alphonse swallowed as she looked up at him and smiled eerily. His stomach churned and her breath smelled rotten and foul as she breathed.

"Your hand, if you please dearie."

Captured in her gaze, Alphonse dumbly extended her hand to her and watched in mild fascination as she traced the pattern in his palm.

After a few moments of silence, Abigar looked up at him and smiled. "Alphonse Elric. You have had a long journey claiming your body for yourself once again haven't you?" His eyes widened as he tried to jerk his arm away from her grasp but to no avail. Unless he wanted to use alchemy to twist her arm, he was stick in her surprisingly strong grip.

"And both of your parents' blood is on your hands as well, though you have not only lived one life I see. You are a state alchemist yes, I already know all of this…"

Letting his hand go, she shuffled over to the coffee table and picked up his discarded tea cup and peered into the bottom.

_So that's why she was so insistent about the tea. _He thought as he cradled his molested hand to his chest as he watched her scrunched up face turn into a malicious smile.

"Oh my!" She exclaimed, placing his cup back on the table and turning to face him. "Your future is very interesting, but slightly muddled. How I would love to read your brot—"

"What the hell—who the hell is this? _Get out of our house!" _Edward roared as the door was thrown open with a bang and he marched toward the surprised Abigar.

Alphonse went to grab the back of his shirt, but his brother was on a rampage and he could not get a hold on him.

There was a slight gust of wind as the sunlight outside dimmed and the lights inside the house went out completely. Suddenly, Cynthia was there and holding Edward by the throat as she stood between the blonde haired boy and Abigar.

"Cynthia! Please, sto—!" The rest of Alphonse's sentence was cut off as he was thrown into the wall behind him and cracked his head into it, knocking him unconscious.

Edward clawed at the girl's arm as her grip tightened, limiting his air supply to a minimum. His head began to feel light and he knew he should be using his alchemy, but he couldn't feel his limbs any longer and as they were replaced by a tingling feeling.

"You come here and expect us to welcome you with open arms when you traipse around here like some kind of _prince _and try to tell _us_ what to do?"

Edward's eyes widened in shock as his eyes focused on her face when he heard her voice. The girl's eyes were completely black and her teeth had sharpened into points and black patterns cut into her face as she snarled up at him. Cynthia's voice had morphed from her own and was now deeper and laced with a hatred that no human could muster.

"You _pathetic_ _human_," she spat, tilting her head to the side as if to get a better look at his blue face, "You think you're powerful, but all you are is a flea in this universe. Unimportant. Unwanted. Weak—"

"A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh! Enough, Sonnillon!"

Edward was suddenly dropped to the floor in a heap as Cynthia grabbed her head in writhing pain. He coughed and massaged his aching and now bruising throat as he curled into a ball on the floor while trying to regain the ability to breath.

His thoughts about himself weren't the only thing bothering him, however. Twisting to sit on his knees, he blearily made his way over to his brother's side and checked his head for any severe injury. Finding none, he swiveled his head dizzily to look at who his savior was.

The blonde boy from Winry's house stood over the now unconscious form of Cynthia and was mumbling something under his breath as he held his hand out over her. Edward scanned the room once again and found that they were the only ones inhabiting the room; the old woman was nowhere to be found.

"If you plan on leaving, I suggest you do it now. The others will be here soon and I can't guarantee your safety." The boy stated, still watching the girl's limp form.

"What?" Edward asked, thoroughly confused. "Who is coming? Why?"

The dirty blonde turned his attention to the Elric for the first time since his arrival and sighed. "The ones who hate you because you're an outsider. As an outsider myself I can sympathize, but definitely not on the same level. I'm still a shadow alchemist, but I am not named as one. I'm Ezekiel by the way. I spoke to Winry a couple of times."

Edward flinched and looked away at the mention of the blonde girl. Apparently unnoticing to the Elric's pain, Ezekiel pressed on.

"Anyway, I heard about your little tirade about leaving and calling us things right to Samnu, who is the strongest of his age and everyone looks up to him too might I add, and thought I might clue you in seeing as no one else will tell you what happened all those years ago. The reason why everyone hates you and your brother there." He said, nodding to the still unconscious form of Alphonse.

Edward stared at the boy in front of him. "Why are you helping me?"

Ezekiel shrugged, "Maybe it's because I hate that bastard Samnu as much as you do."

"That's doubtful." Edward muttered as he leaned against the wall to get comfortable. He had a feeling that this would take a while.

XxX

Winry blindly let Samnu pull her around in the streets with the sunset causing the lights in the streets to begin to flicker on until they approached the foot of stone steps that led to a building partially hidden by the trees surrounding it.

Winry gave the white haired boy a withering look that he ignored as they began the assent until they finally stopped in front of a beautifully crafted mansion where greenery surrounded the entire estate. The blonde girl blinked up at the view and couldn't help but let out a breath filled with awe.

Samnu looked back at her with a smirk and rolled his eyes. "Close your mouth, you look like a dying fish."

Winry huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms, yanking her hand out of his grasp at the realization that they were still connected. "Well thanks for ruining the scene. Care to set the garden on fire as well while you're at it?"

The white haired boy turned away from her and inspected the land in front of him intently and finally glanced back at her as he walked to the doors of the building, "Don't be ridiculous. That would look awful, is your sense of beauty that twisted?"

The blonde didn't even deem it necessary to respond to his ribbing and instead joined him on the porch next to the door as he tapped on the wood in front of him.

As they waited, Winry felt the need to ask him the questions that had been plaguing her mind ever since he asked her to bond with him. What does that entail? Would they be as close as one person? Why do they hate other alchemists? She barely knew him. Why was his hair white? What did his name mean? What demon was she mixed with?

All of these questions crowded her mind as she nervously rocked back and forth on her heels. Winry really needed to speak with him, but would the answers be what she wanted to hear?

"Hey, calm down. You look like you're being sentenced to death. This is just Maddox's home. Whoever is the village's leader gets this house and rules from here." Samnu explained, looking at her pale face out of the corner of his eye.

Winry nodded and took a deep breath. She comforted her stressed thoughts by telling herself that she would ask him all these things before the bonding ceremony.

Samnu knocked lightly once again and this time they could hear footsteps approach the front door. Finally the wooden door was pulled back and Maddox smiled warmly at them.

"Ah, Michael. Nice to see you again. I hardly see you anywhere but the training fields or in the library. What are you doing here?"

The white haired boy frowned deeply and narrowed his eyes at the older man. "I told you not to call me that, _Mastema_."

A beat of silence passed as the two men glared at each other until Winry cleared her throat purposely.

Maddox turned his gaze over to the blonde haired girl and smiled in recognition. Samnu refused to look at either one of them and instead looked sullenly out into the distance.

"Aren't you going to invite us in?" He grumbled to the tree swaying gently next to the porch.

"Of course," he replied, stepping back as Samnu waved Winry in before him and closed the door behind them.

"Not that I'm not glad for the company, but what do you two need? I was unaware that the two of you even spoke before now so what do you need from me together like this?" Maddox inquired as he led them into a parlor and gestured for them to sit down which Winry readily obeyed, but Samnu ignored and leaned against a wall instead.

"We need to be bonded as soon as possible so we can enter into the tournament by the end of the day." Samnu deadpanned from across the room as Winry opened her mouth to explain.

Maddox raised an eyebrow in obvious curiosity. "Oh? Does Winry even know what that entails? She must know what demon she is mixed with, you know. And she must know about you as well. I won't just allow Gray's student to blindly follow someone who acts like they know everything."

Samnu grit his teeth together in frustration. "Can't this wait until after? We need to register for the tournament and—"

"Stop talking like I'm not here and can't speak for myself." Winry interrupted standing and facing the two males who were acting as if she wasn't even in the room. Samnu's narrow eyes regarded her with slight shock and annoyance at being interrupted and Maddox merely looked curious.

Winry held up a finger. "First of all, I would like to know what this bonding entails. Secondly, what is Samnu that it's so important that I have to know and third, who am I mixed with and who can tell me?"

_There, _she thought proudly, _I got most of my questions out there and the others I can sort through later. _

Samnu groaned and slid to the ground, stretching one leg out and resting his elbow on the other bent knee as he put his head in his hands. "Great. Just _great_. Now we'll be here _all damned day_…" He continued to grumble to himself as Maddox gestured for Winry to take a seat once again as he did the same.

"I will have to go out of order for all of this to fit, so forgive me if I don't go in the exact order of your questions." He began, watching as the tired looking girl nodded and settled into the cushions on the couch further.

"First, we will begin with Samnu." He began.

Said person grunted in irritation, gaining Maddox's attention who turned his head to the corner where Samnu was propped and scowled, "Would you like to tell her?"

The white haired boy closed his eyes and waved away the question, seeming to annoy Maddox all the more. "You go on ahead. You were always better at telling stories than me. I'll input the truth every once in a while as you go."

Maddox sighed and turned his attention back to Winry, "Samnu is…not like everyone else here. There is a reason why some call him Michael." He paused and both he and Winry looked at the boy in concern, but he seemed to be either ignoring them or sleeping.

"You see, he was not born here like most children. Though that is not very unique, it was in his situation. He was born in a completely different place."

"_Place_?" Winry questioned, narrowing her eyes. "Like a different country? That's not very uncommon…"

Maddox shook his head and looked out the window. "No, a different place entirely. Not of this world."

"Imagine a dream and how that feels. Now put yourself in that dream. Anything is possible. You can be anything, do anything but there is always a price. I don't mean I give you shoes and you give me a shirt. I'm talking about I need to breathe and so I give you a person in exchange for their oxygen that they contain in their body. _That's_ the place I was condemned to." Samnu mumbled with his eyes still closed, but a furrow had developed between his eyebrows in focus or frustration, Winry couldn't tell.

"Condemned? What did you do?" She asked, staring at him piercingly.

His eyes snapped open and slight anger was in their depths. "I was _three years old_ when they sent me there. What could a three year old do that was so terrible that they would curse him to hell?" He snapped.

"Samnu was an angel." Maddox declared.

Winry's mind was going into overload processing all this information. "He was an angel? How is that even possible? I thought he was part demon…?"

"I am."

Maddox looked at him with a narrow expression. "Not helping. Samnu was born Michael, the angel of destruction and vengeance in the name of God to a woman in heaven. However, she did not tell anyone what was growing inside her."

"A direct descendent of an angel and a demon." Samnu finished with fake bravado.

Winry blinked. "So…wait. What happened to make you be sent to hell? How did you get out?"

Samnu sighed and pushed himself up further on the wall to look at her evenly. "After three years of blissful ignorance on their parts, my mother was betrayed by one of her closest friends. He told the big man upstairs and the next thing I knew, my mother was sent to the second circle of hell and I was being taken from my home."

Winry's heart broke a little for young Samnu. The image of a child being torn from both his only parent and his home without knowing what was going on almost made tears comes to her eyes. If she didn't know that the white haired boy would get angry if he saw such a scene on his part, she probably would have cried on his behalf.

"They tried to throw me down to hell with my mother, but dear old dad caught me in the in between before I could land there. I don't know if the _angels_," he drawled as he used his hands to do finger quotes around the name, "even know I'm alive and on Earth, but if they do they obviously don't care very much."

"His connection to both heaven and hell is the reason for such an exotic hair color. His body was put through extreme supernatural conditions—"

"Bullshit. Tell her the real reason." Samnu interrupted, glaring at the older man.

Maddox looked slightly taken aback at the outburst, but nodded after a heartbeat of hesitation. "They did not just throw his mother down to hell without divine punishment, of course. Samnu's mother was…burned on a holy cross. Her affiliation with a demon made the holy symbol burn her back and eventually set her entire body in white flames."

"I was told to attend the 'purging' and I did." The boy mumbled, closing his eyes once again.

Maddox frowned and rubbed his temples. "When she was nothing but ashes, the angels picked them up and spread them across Samnu's body, rubbing them into his hair and skin to ensure that he was reminded of his mothers' sins for eternity."

The blonde girl opened her mouth to reply that that was enough and that she didn't want to hear any more when Samnu interrupted her.

"They also wanted to remind me that my mother's downfall was my fault and that her blood was on my hands as well as theirs. I killed my mother."

"No you didn't." Winry stated in the upmost confidence, shocking herself and both men in the room.

Samnu blinked at her owlishly but quickly recovered, shrugging off her statement. "It was the past. So now you know why my hair is white. Personally, I much rather my version of things: I was stressed early on in my childhood because I had so much potential that they pushed me to stress so hard that I grew white hair, but you wanted to know, so there you have it."

"Right." Maddox clapped his hands, snapping Winry out of staring at Samnu with a disbelieving look on her face at his flippancy with his past. "Now for the bonding explanation!"

As Winry listened intently to the instructions given to her about the ceremony, Samnu focused on the approach of another guest to Maddox's residence. The footsteps were barely audible on the porch, but he had hearing better than most humans and could make out the quiet shuffle of feet.

Maddox turned to the door with an expectant look. "Ah, just the person I needed to speak to. Come in, Abigar."

A tiny old woman shuffled into the room and greeted Winry with a smile. "Hello Ms. Rockbell."

"H-hi." Winry stuttered, moving over on the couch to make room for the woman to sit down. Maddox made introductions between the two and waited for them to settle before asking Abigar what he needed to know.

"Abigar, I need you to tell me what demon she is mixed with if you don't mind."

The woman nodded and grabbed both of the blondes' hands in her own wrinkled ones as she stared intently at Winry's blue gaze. Samnu stood from his position on the floor and made his way to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Winry inquired, slightly panicked that she was being left alone with two strangers without someone that she knew to help her.

Samnu paused at the threshold of the door with his hand on the knob and looked over his shoulder at her. "Crazy." He muttered, opening the door fully and closing it with a bang.

Winry frowned and her chest clenched in fear and worry as ABigar focused on her once again.

"Now don't you worry about him, I need you to clear your mind for me and focus on your inner self. If you want to know who you are on the inside, you must let me in." She chided.

Abigar watched as the young girl in front of her nodded and closed her eyes in concentration. The old woman was curious about this girl; she gave off a feeling that was different from anyone she had ever encountered before in her long life. Instead of giving off a calming feeling with her shadows, they were erratic like they were fighting with each other instead of working together. The only other person she had come close to seeing their aura like that was Samnu, but she couldn't be positive because he never let her near enough to fully read him.

Abigar flicked her eyes to the leader of the village in mild annoyance. "You will need to leave as well for this to work; you know that. Unless you would like me to summon Mastema outside of your body along with hers."

Maddox left without a word and Abigar bent her head over Winry's hand as she pressed her forehead against the back of it. She began to mumble the words to pull the demon out of Winry's body and felt as the girl stiffened in pain.

Abigar chose not to mention the fact that pulling a demon out of someone was more painful than the cruelest torture on purpose. If she had, Winry's mind would have focused on nothing but the thought of incoming pain to her body and the old woman would not have been able to see the demon easily.

"Open gate of the darkest night, open to Abigar in the realm of the humans and show me your form. Heed my call, follow my commands, leave none unfulfilled!"

Winry trembled and tried to curl in on herself to ease the pain, but Abigar held fast to her hands and locked them at her sides. "Please let me go!" She begged, her breath coming shallower and shallower.

Abigar continued to mumble her commands until she felt Winry go still and fall back into the couch. The old woman watched calmly as the young girl's back arched and black smoke oozed from the pores of her body while her eyes stayed wide and unseeing.

Silence reigned in the room before the smoke collected itself into a resemblance of a form. Flesh fell from its body in strips and its horns glowed red with heat as he bent to snarl in the woman's face.

"Why do you call me here?" He growled.

Abigar stood, emanating the aura of her own demon as she stood as tall as his waist. "Name yourself."

The demon laughed and walked around the room; touching the flowers in the window and watching as they wilted and died. "Who are you to command a demon god, Abigar? You are a peasant among the demons; you hold no power over me."

The woman withdrew a bible from under the folds of her dress and held it out at him. "You forget where you are. Here, I hold more power than you. Here I am the stronger one in this useless and weak human body as compared to you. One sentence out of this book and you face the true death."

The demon looked shocked for a moment before his glowing eyes turned to the blonde girl still and unconscious on the couch. "If you kill me, you kill her. Do you actually think that I would believe such a lie?"

"Why do you think I care for the girl? She is different, surely but that comes around every couple of hundred years. Why should she be any different than the others?" The old woman commented, calmly flipping through the thin pages of the book.

The shadowy figure approached the woman once again and sneered. "You really have no idea, do you? You unimportant, ignorant, useless dem—"

"Father God you are the excellent, you are lord and master and all demons will bow to you on your own. Father these angels I asked you to send in the place where this prayer is becoming heard—"

The demon writhed in pain and clasped his ears to try and ward off the sound of her voice, but she continued on, ignoring the fact that Winry was moaning in pain and blood had begun to trickle out of her nose and mouth. The blonde girl coughed and choked on her own blood, but could not sit up to stop herself from beginning to drown. Abigar would have to move faster.

"Tell me your name, demon and I will stop!" She commanded. "…father I want these angels to do a thing distinct—"

"Beelzebub! I am called Beelzebub! Leave me be!" He roared, forcefully returning himself to the gurgling form of Winry, whose body was convulsing on the couch while her eyes rolled to the back of her head as he possessed part of her body once again.

Samnu burst into the room with twin shadow swords, pointing one at the old woman in the middle of the room. "What have you done?" He shouted angrily.

Abigar's face was sheet white. Never before had she encountered such a powerful demon; one almost as powerful as Lucifer himself. She shakily dropped the bible from her hands and stood staring wide eyed at the young boy whose attention was now on the choking girl on the couch.

After glancing in the direction of the old woman and not really caring about her wellbeing, he disintegrated his swords and jogged to Winry's side, helping her sit up on the couch and cough out the blood gurgling in her chest.

"I don't understand…I don't understand…why her? How?" Abigar looked down at her shaking hands and back up at the girl now being propped up by Samnu on the couch. Such a thing had never happened in history. Never had such a powerful demon possessed a human and not killed them or taken them over completely.

So why was she different?

XxX

"Samnu, please sit down." Maddox sighed for the umpteenth time as he sat watching the boy pace in front of the couch Winry rested on.

The girl had regained consciousness not long ago and the blood was still dried and clinging to her face and hair. Samnu wasn't even sure if she was aware it was there. He would not halt guarding her in front of these two. If he had known what learning who her demon was entailed, he would never have let them do it in the first place.

"And why should I? So you can summon up another demon you can't handle?" He drawled sarcastically towards the old woman in the chair next to Maddox.

Abigar had not spoken since the encounter with the demon and instead stared vacantly at the wall in front of her. Gray's demon had been frightening enough, but Beelzebub?

"Samnu, that's enough." The leader demanded sharply, standing and moving to face Abigar head on. "We need to know who she is mixed with, Abigar. I'm sorry if he frightened you, but you must tell us."

The old woman licked her lips and looked at Winry in fear before Samnu blocked her view of her. "Beelzebub." She whispered.

Maddox recoiled as if he'd been hit. He turned to Samnu and Winry in shock and wonder. Winry sank further into the couch under his scrutiny and tried to make herself smaller.

"What?" She croaked, still weak and sore from learning her demon. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Samnu began, turning to face her with a smirk on his face, "if we bond, we will be practically unstoppable. You don't know because you weren't brought up in a school here, but we learn early on who our demons are and learn their history and lineage."

Maddox rose from his chair and left the room only to return a few moments later holding a book two times as large as a normal one and gestured for Winry to follow him to the dining room next to the parlor.

Winry stood with Samnu watching her for any signs of toppling over and looked down at herself for a moment when she went to straighten her shirt and her hand came away with blood on it. Her eyes widened when she realized that her entire torso was covered in blood and touched her face only to feel the crustiness left from the blood earlier drying.

She looked to Samnu in shock and blinked in surprise when he took the bottom of his shirt and began gently wiping the blood away from her face with it. "You look like you just ate someone alive. I'm just helping you not look like some kind of cannibalistic murderer." He said, smirking when she scowled at him.

They finally arrived in the dining room and took a seat next to each other at the table while Maddox opened the book in front of them and began to explain.

"Millions of years ago when demons roamed the Earth freely in their natural state, there was a fierce battle between the two involving the rights to command the few humans scattered across the planet. On one side of this conflict was Beelzebub, a cruel and torturous king who wanted only to use the humans as we would use cattle today. The other demon, Samnu, wanted to wipe them out completely. Calling them weak and useless creatures, any human who crossed his path was killed in increasingly imaginative ways."

Winry gulped and looked at the pictures in front of her illustrating his words Maddox uttered. The humans were crushed under the demon's feet as they toiled in what looked to be factories and slave houses.

"The conflict continued for years and many demons were slaughtered along with the humans who ended up nearly extinct. Just when it seemed that the war would never end, the two greater demons met with each other and proposed a truce. The two exchanged pieces of their souls and embedded it in the other; forever bonding together and ending any quarrel."

"Then…" Winry started, looking at Samnu curiously, "We're already bonded?"

Maddox looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. "In a way, yes. The only thing left to do is…"

In a flash, he appeared behind the two unsuspecting teens. Samnu barely had the time to stand up before Maddox sliced open both their wrists and pushed them together.

The two could not move as a glowing circle erupted beneath their feet, signs and words in a language that wasn't human keeping them there. Winry looked at their interlocked wrists in fear as Maddox mumbled under his breath and Abigar joined in quietly from the other side of the room.

Samnu grit his teeth together in frustration as he struggled against the hold. They must have drawn the circle when he had been cleaning off Winry, the sneaky bastard.

"Ut divinae consortes, qui daemonum et angelorum. Nunquam separatur, numquam cades semper victor!"

The circle was gone and all that was left was the conjoined wrists of the two teens as one glared hate at Maddox and the other stood in awe as she watched the skin of their wrists join together and separate before her eyes.

Winry sighed as her wrist was released and she cradled the bloody appendage to her even bloodier shirt.

"If I lose any more of my blood, you won't have much of a partner to begin with." She whined.

X

x

X

**So…yeah. **

***the translation on that Latin passage is: "As partakers of the divine, and of angels, demons who can never separate, never falter, always victorious shall rule."**

**That's got to be THE LONGEST chapter I've written so far, right right?**

**So…I hope I answered some of the questions that have been unanswered and moved the plot along at the right pace for you guys! **

**Guyssss I hit 100 reviews! I'm so happy! Thank you so much for liking my story this much and telling me about it, you guys are the best!**

**Thank you especially to anissa. kent, Shirraz78, guest, william and jack and jake, Jiyoung, and otakgirlyy for reviewing! **

**As always, please review again! Let's reach 150 reviews!**


	15. Chapter 15: Problems in Paradise

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist!**

**Chapter 15: Problems in Paradise **

Winry slouched on the small couch in her living room as Samnu bandaged her wounds while perched on the low coffee table in front of her. The blonde girl had a dazed look about her as she retreated into the recesses of her mind to try and sort out what was going on. Ignoring Samnu as he mumbled obscenities under his breath and inspected her battered body, Winry thought out her situation.

One, there was a small tugging at her subconscious like a thread connected to the boy still muttering in front of her as he cleaned off a nasty scratch she gained from their impromptu fight. She could eerily feel the shadow of his feeling of annoyance and slight undertone of worry as he sat in front of her. Winry fidgeted at her thoughts being connected to him and he glared at her slightly for her movement and she stilled. She internally shrugged and decided to ask him about the connection later. Preferably when they had both gotten more sleep.

Secondly, and this thought made her heart ache, Edward and Alphonse were nowhere to be found. When she asked Samnu about their disappearance earlier, the boy grunted something and shrugged a shoulder, quickly reminding her that she needed to get patched up and rested and dragged her along the street. The thought of Edward made her close her eyes in frustration. She had tried to explain, but he was so blinded by fury that he had tuned her out and just thrown out insults instead.

_How dare he? I didn't do it to purposely hurt him! If he had just listened, I could have explained and he wouldn't be leaving. Why leave? Is that all he knows how to do? Up and leave after every quarrel? That would never solve anything! _Winry gritted her teeth. _Stupid, stupid, stupid boy. I apologized! What more can I do? Being a shadow alchemist is part of my life now, and if he doesn't like it then what can I—_

"Winry." Samnu's deep and quiet voice interrupted her thoughts, making her sluggishly look at him in question. "Stop worrying. You're going to give _me_ an ulcer."

She frowned as she inspected her newly bandaged arm and touched her face gingerly. When she had first arrived home, her partner shoved her into the shower, demanding that she clean the blood off herself before he could 'properly sterilize her disgusting wounds.' Needless to say, the shower had stung nearly every inch of her sliced up body and revealed to her all the bruises marring her skin.

"I…" She began, looking down and tracing the bandage that stretched from the palm of her hand to her elbow.

What was she going to say? That she missed her blonde haired boys so much that her head hurt? That all she wanted to do is run as fast as she could to wherever he was and force him to listen until she could explain what had happened?

Winry raised her blue orbs to his grey ones as tears began to prickle in the corner of her eyes out of frustration. His eyes widened slightly before he closed them with a sigh, reaching out to her and dragging her to her feet and towards her bedroom door.

She stumbled behind him; barely having control of her exhausted body and causing Samnu to have to place a hand on the small of her back to guide her to her room without her face planting on the wooden floors under their feet.

When he finally got to the foot of her bed, he gently shoved her down until she situated herself under her covers and turned her back to him so she faced the wall. All she wanted was to sleep and fall into the oblivion of the darkness that crept upon her tired and swollen eyes.

Samnu ran a hand through his white hair and had the bitter thought that if his hair wasn't already white, it would be turning so now from all the stress this girl was putting herself under because of some idiot state alchemist.

Sighing, he turned off the lamp next to her bed and walked to the doorway before pausing and turning his head to peer into the darkness behind him.

"I'll go check the house they were assigned. They'll probably still be there. I'll tell metal brain to come here before he leaves." He said quietly and heard the shuffling of sheets behind him.

"Oh!" Winry croaked. "Thank you so much Samnu. Edward really is a good guy. I know you don't like him very much because he's a state alchemist, but really once you get to know him and look past that, I think you'll see that he's brave and strong." She rambled, her happiness practically radiating off of her and making him scowl.

"Really, you guys would probably be good friends if you tried! And I need to tell him that I'm sorry. Again. Because maybe he was just so mad that he didn't listen. That would explain it, because usually he wouldn't be so—"

"Please." He cut her off as he waved his hand in her general direction. "Try not to burst into song." He mumbled sarcastically, closing her bedroom door and marching to the front door after grabbing his jacket.

XxX

Ezekiel paused in his story after explaining the premise behind shadow alchemy and glanced at the shifting girl behind him. Alphonse warily looked at Cynthia's unconscious form over Ezekiel's shoulder, rubbing his head where it had collided with the wall subconsciously and wincing.

"So what's all that got to do with us?" Edward questioned irritably as he leaned next to the window, watching the sun through the slight drizzle outside as it began to set.

The young prophet sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes, "Because, back then, shadow and animate alchemists worked together. We helped in the state and were appointed just as you were, until a group of your kind got greedy."

Edward frowned, but made no response.

"Shadow alchemists refused to assist them in their foolish chase in human transmutation. They believed that with our attachment to the outer realm, we could somehow reach where they couldn't and with their transmutation circles and our shadows, we could cheat death." Ezekiel shook his head sadly and let his head fall back to rest against the wall he leaned against and closed his eyes.

"The elders tried to reason with them, telling them that even with our powers, trying to create life from death was an impossible taboo to us. However, they did not listen and crept into the homes of young teenage shadow alchemists and took them to the sight where the dead human body waited."

Alphonse looked down and fiddled with his hands as Edward's frown deepened with the past looming before him. Both boys knew what was coming.

"I will not go into detail, but the attempt was a horrible failure, resulting in the possession and eventual slaughter of our young alchemists. Their demons inside them, realizing what they were attempting, turned traitor against their host and took over their bodies and thoughts. They killed anyone in their path until the children took their own lives with the remaining shred of their consciousness they had left to save the other alchemists."

"What about the other alchemists?" Alphonse asked quietly, regarding his older brothers' tense form warily out of the corner of his eye.

Ezekiel sighed and opened an eye to check on Cynthia lying out flat on her back unconsciously before sliding it closed once again. "Some were dismembered, but most survived. They faced trial in our courts and the Führer did his best to pin it on us; saying that it was our experiment and that we sent children to cover our tracks."

Cynthia twitched on the floor and Ezekiel rushed to finish his history. "Of course, this threw our community into an uproar. No one trusted anyone anymore—relationships were torn apart as parents took their children away from shadow and state alchemist bonds and told them the other was evil, children with both parents were killed or lied to about their ancestry, and fights broke out everywhere. On the brink of war, our elders decided it best to erase us from your history and hope to fade into the blackness as state alchemists continued on in the light of the people."

"Forcing us to disappear into fairy tales as the monsters that go bump in the night." Cynthia quietly stated; eyes still closed as she lay on the ground.

Ezekiel's eyes snapped open as he sat into an upright position in a flash.

"Tell me state alchemists, do you think it to be fair, how we were treated and are treated still? You think we are cruel, but we clothe you, feed you, house you, and what can be said for us in your world?" She continued in a voice void of all emotion. "We don't exist and if we were to show ourselves, we would be slaughtered on sight."

A tear leaked out of the corner of her eye and down the side of her face as she rolled her head to look at Edward while still laid out on the floor. Night had fallen and the rain had increased in its tapping on the house, draping half of the golden haired boy's face in shadow.

"That is, after all, what you came to do, right?" She whispered.

Both boys whipped their heads in her direction with wide eyes as Ezekiel frowned and looked down at his hands clasped in front of him. Alphonse stuttered while moving his hands in front of himself wildly, trying to explain but not fully being able to because he knew they were right.

"How did you know—" Edward began, but was cut off with pounding at the front door. With an annoyed grunt, he pushed off the wall he leaned against and wrenched the door open; a choking noise coming from his mouth as he glared into the night.

"Your over exuberance at seeing me is suffocating, please try to reign in your happiness a little." An annoyed voice floated into the house behind Edward.

Ezekiel and Alphonse both hopped to their feet and bounded over to the door where they could see the two boys glaring at each other, lightning shooting from both of their eyes in hatred. The younger Elric pulled on his brother's shoulder anxiously as Ezekiel blocked the line of vision with his body and faced Samnu.

"What do you need, Michael?" He asked calmly.

The white haired boy shoved his hands into his pockets and slouched slightly; the picture of ease. He stepped closer to the young prophet threateningly, "I believe I've asked you not to call me that, outcast."

Ezekiel narrowed his eyes and was about to retort when a female voice interrupted him from behind them.

"Ladies, ladies, please. Last I checked, I wasn't at a cock fight." Cynthia drawled, sitting up from her position sprawled out on the floor

Samnu's grey eyes followed her voice into the home and smirked.

"Ah, Cyn. What are you doing here with our crack team of misfits? Come to see the circus in action?" His eyes lazily cast around the room, looking at the three boys in front of him and shrugged as his eyes rested on hers once again, "Can't say they're a very powerful or lively bunch, though Ezekiel may be able to literally bore someone to death with his preaching—"

Shadows shot out from behind Ezekiel straight towards Samnu, jagged points on the end of the quickly approaching darkness. Alphonse's eyes widened in horror.

_I have to do something to stop Ezekiel from—_what_?!_

One hand lifted out of the white haired boy's pocket and waved away the deadly attack as if swatting away an annoying fly. His silted eyes narrowed even further as the shadow receded from his pale face and his hand found its way back into his worn jeans.

Alphonse watched in fascination. Samnu wasn't even fazed by the attack!

"You would place your lot alongside the enemy?" He growled quietly as he stared menacingly at the young prophet.

Ezekiel swallowed, but did not waver in his demeanor and kept his voice calm. "They are not the enemy. How long has it been since that inciden—"

"_Not long enough!" _Samnu snarled, an odd light shining from his skin as his teeth sharpened.

Edward's own eyes narrowed as he shoved Ezekiel aside and joined the irate boy on the small porch outside. He gestured to Alphonse and back to himself with a flappy hand. "_We_ have done _nothing_! Al and I had nothing to do with what happened all those years ago and neither did the majority of the 'normal' alchemists you blame!"

The blonde boy pointed an accusing finger into Samnu's chest, "You're just stuck in the past and won't try to get up and _move on! _Life goes on!"

"Life goes on?" He said; a scary chuckle erupted from Samnu's throat as he slapped the hand at his chest away with a fraction of his force, breaking several of the tiny bones in Edward's hand. He approached closer to Edward's face as a twisted smile played over his lips, "Life _does not_ go on, metal brain and you know that first hand." Some of the color drained from Edward's face, which made Samnu all the more joyful as he continued.

"What's dead is dead and it isn't coming back. Didn't you already learn that lesson when you tried to bring your precious mother back to life? You ended up sacrificing limbs and your own darling brother for your own selfish desires for what? A hunk of a half dead woman?"

Cynthia rose to her feet and looked at Alphonse out of her peripheral vision. The boy was deathly pale and practically shaking as he recalled the memories from his past. She didn't know, but she probably wouldn't want to if offered the information.

She crossed her arms as the black haired girl shoved her way to the doorway between Ezekiel and Alphonse and leaned on the frame; running her tongue over her teeth in glee. The shadow of the demon inside of her could practically _taste_ the hate radiating off the two boys in front of her.

Edward gathered his scattered brain and growled, shoving back against the other boy's chest to get him to back off. "You know _nothing_."

Samnu stumbled back and laughed, "I know _everything_ Winry knows."

He noted the pained expression that crossed the blonde's face and jumped at his chance. He inspected his nails while he tried to keep his cool from being shoved and not rip out the alchemist's throat for touching him. Samnu was in the mood for a _real_ fight and something told him that the other boy was chomping at the bit as well. The white haired boy was determined that he was going to get his way somehow, as long as he kept pushing Edward's sensitive buttons.

"That's the reason I came you know—for her. I couldn't care less if you left or not, but for some reason she does. She's really beating herself up about that little kiss we shared; moping around, not eating, blaming herself…" His eyes bore into golden orbs in intensity, "_crying_."

Edward flinched and looked away; guilt eating at him for being so ruthless with her.

Samnu inwardly smiled. _One final push…_he thought.

He approached Edward once again, getting as close as possible and lifting his hands out of his pockets for the first time since Ezekiel tried to attack him. "And that's not even half of what I have planned for your little Winry once you leave and get out of my way. Then we can share a house…" The white haired boy saw Edward's hands begin to shake in rage, "…share living space…" Edward stiffened and Samnu inwardly sighed as he prayed that the hit wouldn't hurt too much, "…share a bed—"

That was the final straw.

The white haired boy barely had time to close his eyes before Edward's fist sent him flying off the porch and into the street. Samnu barely had time to blink before a blonde blur came speeding towards him. Edward slammed his hand into where the other boy's head used to be and created a crater in the road as Samnu dodged out of the way.

He could already feel his cheek swelling and he'd be damned if he got hit like that again.

Lifting his knees to his chest, Samnu kicked out with both of his legs to get the snarling boy off from on top of him and resisted the urge to use his shadow alchemy. He had to do this for Winry. For her to be happy, he had to show this idiot that she cared for him and not himself.

Crawling to his feet, Samnu sighed as Edward grunted and got to his feet as well, cradling his stomach with his broken hand. The white haired boy cringed slightly. He hadn't _meant_ to break ribs and bones, but it seemed that he did anyway.

Edward charged him once again, landing a few hits all over his body as he made a few counter stacks himself. He wasn't just going to _stand there_ and take it all.

The rabid state alchemist delivered a blow to Samnu's gut, causing him to fall to his knees in the street and hold his own stomach.

"You _stay away_ from Winry." Edward growled above him.

Samnu chuckled and wiped some of the blood from his lip as he called out to the boy as he began to turn and walk away. "I'll do as I please! Hey, I wasn't _finished_!" He called, looking up to the stars and hearing the footsteps halt as he contemplated his idiocy.

Edward began to turn back to beat his face in some more when a scream snapped both their heads in the same direction.

There Winry stood, clad in the boxers and tank top he'd left her in standing in the middle of the street—a look of horror and anger on her face. Samnu was surprised the look wasn't directed at him, but at metal brain.

Edward's eyes bugged out of his head for a second as he glanced down at the white head next to him matted and stained with blood and then back at Winry. "Winry, I—"

She threw her hand up in his direction with a hard look and he fell silent as he watched her approach the boy still slumped on the ground in pain. Samnu looked up to see a pair of untied boots approaching him. A pair of _his_ boots, he noted with a frown.

"Are you alright?" She asked worriedly, shoving him onto his back as she inspected his wounds.

"Why're you wearing my boots?" He asked with a frown.

Winry gave him an annoyed look and he smirked, "Is this the part where you tear your shirt into strips to bandage my wounds?" He asked mockingly, both of them ignoring the growl from behind Winry signaling that Edward had heard.

The blonde girl rolled her eyes and ignored him as her mouth set into a firm line, "You'll be okay, but let's get you back so I can bandage you up." She sighed as they both got to their feet. "All of this blood and mess and I'll go through the entire stock of bandages at the hospital at this rate and then we'll just all bleed everywhere…" She whined and continued to grumble as she walked off, Samnu lazily following after.

The white haired boy paused and turned to look back at the dimly lit porch behind him and saw Edward leaning against the side watching them with hurt in his eyes. Samnu opened his mouth, but after thinking about it closed it again and turned away. He'd set the ball rolling for metal brain to get her back, now it was his job to go after her.

XxX

Winry pulled up the grass she rested on in frustration.

The tournament was in _two days_ and she felt like she'd gotten nowhere with her powers since she arrived. Despite what Gray and Everett kept selling her about her improving so much over the past couple of weeks, she wasn't buying it.

In turn, they decided to use a different approach.

"_C'mon you baby! Weak! Ha, you call that an attack? I could fight better than that when I was four!" _

"_You suck. I should never have taught you in the first place! You've gotten nowhere! Look, Samnu's hit Everett three times and you've yet to ruffle a hair on my head as of yet! TRY!" _

The blonde girl chunked the collected blades of grass and watched them drop straight back down.

Add her training along with the fact that she was still getting used to being so in sync with another person. In combat, she and Samnu fought and moved like water and flowed in a rhythm only they could hear. However, she had found it quite annoying when her thoughts would drift to Edward or any other topic for that matter and Samnu would scowl or smirk depending on her daydreaming.

It was odd that she seemed to be such an open book with her thoughts and mind, yet the only time she got a glimpse into his was in battle. Other than that, it was just emotions that she could read with him. Like now, Winry had to intently focus on blocking her mind from his to stay hidden.

Scrunching her eyebrows together, she took a look around to identify where exactly she was. It seemed that she had retreated to the Oasis behind Maddox's house, though she barely remembered getting there. She frowned. They had taken their insults a little too far and hurt her feelings; she tried to brush it off and get over it, but the pressure to be the best in such a short amount of time was getting to her and causing her to stress more than usual.

Her head snapped up as Samnu's feeling of worry grew stronger. Just to be safe, Winry swung her shadows around and used them to lift her into the tree she leaned against and sat on one of the branches hidden in the leaves, leaning her back against the trunk.

The blonde girl closed her eyes.

She missed Edward and Alphonse. She knew that they were still in the village, but after she found Samnu beaten and bloody in the middle of the street, she didn't really want to talk to either of them. Of course, she knew what she did was wrong, but she apologized for it and didn't just ignore the problem.

Samnu hadn't exactly been very talkative with her lately either. All she could gain from his emotions was anticipation and energy and when she asked about it, all she got was a shrug and instruction to train harder.

Her teachers were even more distant. If they weren't training her or yelling 'encouraging' words at her, they were on duty or a mission that was top priority and top secret. She could feel her shadows trembling in anticipation all around her, just like they always did when she was in a particularly bad mood. Winry scowled and scraped her nails on the bark in front of her slowly in anger, watching in satisfaction as it left deep marks on the tree.

_Join me and you will have no superior; no equal! You would be stronger than any shadow alchemist who ever lived!_

The words rang in Winry's ears as she stopped her assault on the tree to rest her head against the tree behind her. Lifting her hand to where its palm faced up, she gathered shadows to her hand and leapt off her perch in the tree, crouching next to a flower in the ground instead.

Curiously, she wrapped her hand not encased in shadow around the stem of the plant. It slightly wilted, but other than that it was fine. That was usual, but it used to only happen when she had her shadows gathered in her hand. Biting her lower lip, Winry shuffled over to another fresh flower and glanced around. Taking a deep breath, she placed her hand on the stem and watched as the plant immediately blackened and died.

She retracted her hand as if it had caught fire and fell back on her backside as she stared at her palm in horror.

_What's wrong with me?_

XxX

Samnu rubbed his eyes in frustration as he made another lap around the village in search of Winry.

_This is odd. Usually I can feel exactly where she is. _

His white hair flopped in the wind as he jogged around the area and narrowed his eyes in concentration and tried to force his way into her mind, but all he was met with was a wall. His mind tried to beat its way through it, but Winry was intently focused on not letting him in. Samnu frowned as his pace slowed and he eventually stopped, propping himself up with his arm pressed against the house nearest to him and rubbing his head. Lacking Winry's side of the connection they shared was giving him a headache and he wished she would drop the wall she'd placed around herself already.

"What are you doing?"

Samnu stiffened slightly at the voice, but relaxed as he turned to give his trademark smirk, "Holding up the shack you call a house, state puppet."

"Well, that's a new insult," Edward scoffed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall Samnu had previously rested against. The blonde boy examined the face in front of him and then cast a glance around them, eyes scrunching together in concern, "Where's Winry?"

Samnu's face darkened as he looked away and behind Edward, "I don't know."

Edward threw his arms into the air, "The _one thing_ you're useful for and you don't know where she _is_? All this stress is making my brain go numb! The least you could do is try to help!"

"That would require you to actually have a brain to begin with, idiot." Samnu mumbled as he began to walk once again. His headache was getting worse, and if he didn't stop Winry from blocking him out, he was going to be the one with the numb brain.

He heard footsteps behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see Edward following him and looking around as well. Rolling his eyes, Samnu continued towards Maddox's home as he listened to the irritated huffs of the blonde alchemist behind him.

How annoying.

**X**

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**X**

**So first off, I hate this chapter, but it was all I had and I hadn't updated I a long time so here you go! **

**I hope you guys liked it and had some things explained that was confusing before!**

**The next chapter WILL have the tournament in it and we will MOVE ON in the story line, I promise! **

**Thank you to December 05****th****, CrazyWolfDevil, anissa. kent (I love your reviews, I would also really like to see my story animated! But the closest I can get to that is fanart, but this story has none sadly!) , willam and jack and jake, Jiyoung (and to answer your question…maaayyybe :D) , Shirraz78 (thank you!) , and jaclynkaileigh (thank you! I'm sorry if this chapter let you down a little, I PORMISE the next one will be better) for reviewing, you guys are great! **

**To everyone else who favorited or alerted, thank you…but you could write me a review…I would love that!  
Review for me please! **


	16. Chapter 16: The Tournament

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Fullmetal alchemist or any of the characters but I do own shadow alchemy and Gray and blah blah, done. **

**Chapter 16: The Tournament**

"Now, what did I tell you to remember?"

"Don't lose focus, don't have sympathy, connect with my hozei senshi, and fight to win."

"How do you win?"

"Defeating any and all opponents by either death or K.O."

Gray nodded and placed a hand on the blonde girl's slightly padded shoulder. Her grey eyes locked with the blue in front of her as she took in the young girl's appearance. After she met up with Samnu and Edward at the front of Maddox's home, Winry had calmed significantly, to the point where she almost didn't even speak.

Gray wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Winry was clothed in the traditional fighting uniform that the warriors of the village wore and what her teacher was wearing as well, just less decorated. Where Gray and Everett had ribbons flowing and sewn on to theirs marking their rank, hers was a plain black short sleeve trimmed in red that was slightly plated in the front with a lace up the back in a corset style. Her hair was tied into a high pony tail to keep it out of her way and the knee high boots she wore were well broken in from all the tedious training she had gone through.

"Listen to me, Winry." Gray said quietly, inspecting her student's face as she bent down to speak to her over the sound of the cheering crowd awaiting them beyond the tunnel they stood in. "You have been influenced by the Seikatsu no Yami and also have a very powerful demon in you. This makes you susceptible to things that will not bother the other opponents. You must be _careful, _you understand? My fellow warriors who are watching the fight will not hesitate to kill you on sight if they believe your demon is getting out of control."

Winry nodded; she had already heard all this the night before.

Her attention was mainly focused on blocking out the cheers emanating from beyond the closed doors they stood next to in response to the battle currently going on. The blonde girl pulled on the white bandages she'd wrapped around her hands, knuckles and lower arms impatiently. Winry could hear the quiet sounds of flesh connecting with the ground as one of the fighters were beaten.

"…there to protect you, don't try to fight on your own."

Blinking, Winry nodded again and tightened her hands into fists at her sides. "I know, Gray. You've done all you can to prepare me." _Except tell me why whatever I touch dies. _"And I'm confident in my partnership." _Though I can't ever tell what he's thinking. _"So don't worry so much, we'll win and we'll be fine." _But no promises on the other teams we compete against._

Gray eyes her warily and finally sighed. "Alright. Remember, you have to win three rounds in all to get to the final team in the fourth match up. Every team will get progressively more difficult." The doors next to them opened and the sounds of the crowd poured in as a girl was wheeled into the hallway on a stretcher. Gray tried to block her sight with her body, but Winry got a good look.

Her hair was ripped out in chunks, her skin was burned red and even black in some areas, and from the looks of the way her body was contorted, she had many broken bones adorning her body. The girl was screeching and crying, overpowering the yells from the crowds with her agonized cries. When Winry focused for a moment, she could hear a name being ripped from the girl's throat.

Shortly after, another stretcher was rolled through the hallway and past the girl, who reached out to the limp boy's hand under the bloody splotched white sheet it dangled from. Winry realized that it must have been her hozei senshi and her heart lurched. She didn't want Samnu to die.

"These children are fierce Winry and they fight with everything they've got to win. You can't be half-assed about this. _Especially_ if you fight the pair that just killed that boy; they were trained to have no mercy and I'm sure would have killed that girl if the referees didn't stop the fight."

Swallowing hard, Winry flicked her eyes up to her teacher who reached over and yanked her hood over her shining blonde hair, "Everett has finished briefing Samnu. It's time, Winry."

The blonde girl nodded once, readjusted her daggers on her belt as she turned to the door, and walked out into the outdoor arena to face her opponents.

XxX

"Now I want to make it clear to all of you that this is not a fight to the death battle. However, as you saw in the previous fight, death is a very real factor in our tournament because there is only one team that will arise victorious and bear the mark of warrior for this village!"

Maddox's voice boomed through the circular arena through the cheers that overtook his last statement. Winry looked up from her position standing on the ground floor to peer at the exuberant crowd and spotted the leader of the village on a small balcony as he addressed the people flanked by two hooded figures behind him.

Scanning the rest of the perimeter, she could make out other black clothed silhouettes against the setting sun on the top level of the open coliseum looking arena. Winry knew that they were there in case any demon got out of hand and turned her face away from them—she wasn't worried about her control.

"Like every match, neither the audience nor the opponents know who they are fighting…" Maddox's voice faded into the background as Winry's ears suddenly began to lose hearing and a dull ringing noise was heard instead. Reaching up, she patted her ears under her hood when a voice made her halt her movements.

_**Winry, stop doing that. **_

The girl froze and looked around frantically, swiveling her head and becoming irritated as the hood covering her face and hair got in the way of her peripherals.

_**Stop. You look ridiculous. It's me, Samnu. This is our connection at its best. When the match starts, I don't know if I can keep it up, so listen. **_

Her eyes narrowed as she growled quietly. _**You choose to tell me about this telepathy **_**now?**

She could practically feel him scoff in her head. _**I didn't know if it would work or not, now be quiet and listen. I think I know who our opponents are—**_

"…begin. Now Dameon, the barrier please."

Winry was distracted from her inner conversation with Samnu as she watched the black tendrils spread into a see through sheet surrounding the perimeter of the battle grounds and forming a dome above their heads. Just then, the other team emerged from the other doors on the opposite side of the field.

Her blue eyes squinted in their direction, but could make out nothing besides the face that one was a girl and the other was a boy. They too had hoods on their heads as they approached and halted a few feet away. Winry glanced at Samnu to her left who looked bored from his body language under his concealing clothing.

"I wish luck to all of you. Now—"

_**Winry, don't do anything reckle—**_

"BEGIN!"

Winry blinked and the couple in front of her was gone; the only thing hinting that they had been there being the dust settling back to the ground. She took in a sharp breath of air when she heard something coming towards her from the right and ducked, narrowly missing a dagger to her temple.

Sweeping her leg under whomever it was attacking her, Winry prepared to shoot up from her crouched position when they leapt over her leg to dodge it. A grin tugged at her face when her fist shrouded in shadow connected with a jaw and thought that she would have to thank Gray for that spar and bruise.

The boy's body thudded to the dirt and Winry glanced around to see what Samnu was doing and if he was okay. She saw him near the edge of the clearing as he tossed the girl into the air with his shadows. It didn't even look like he was breaking a sweat.

Suddenly, his head snapped in her direction.

_**Winry, focus! **_

The air was knocked out of her lungs as her back collided with the shadow wall. She cracked open her eyes as she was held there by a large pillar made from shadows. Scowling, she flung her hands in her opponent's direction, tendrils snaking towards his ankles and yanking him off his feet; causing him to lose focus and drop the shadow holding her to the ground.

Winry flailed as she fell through the air before she used her own shadows to grab her out of the air and place her on the ground. Landing on her feet, she ran towards the boy getting to his feet yet again as she gathered more shadows into her hand.

Distraction wasn't going to happen again.

XxX

"They're not fighting as a team." Everett groaned, dragging his hands down his face as he watched from the crowd.

Gray stayed quiet, but nodded. They wouldn't win if they kept up like this. Sure, it looked like they were winning, but she knew their opponents were just sizing them up and figuring out where they were weak. After all, if that boy had wanted to, he could have easily snapped Winry's neck when he had her against the wall.

_Come on Samnu, _she thought, watching the boy playfully taunt the girl with her boot he had snatched off her foot while she was down, _don't half-ass this. _

XxX

Winry panted from where she lay on the ground.

She had underestimated her opponent and from the sounds coming to her left, so had Samnu.

Winry turned her head to the side and saw her companion earn yet another cut to his arm and focused on their connection as she got to her feet.

_**We need to work together, we can't win like th—**_

Severing their connection, Samnu continued to fight as Winry stood there dumbstruck at his behavior. If he didn't want a partner to fight alongside, then why insist on bonding with her in the first place?

Anger overwhelmed her system and the crowd grew quieter under the blood rushing through her ears.

The boy sent his shadows at her once again, but this time she was entirely focused on him and this fight. Weaving through his shadows as if she was dancing, Winry quickly approached the stunned boy and palmed her hand against his rib cage, feeling the bone underneath her hands crumble and shatter.

He bent over for a split second as the impact registered and this time Winry didn't back off, but reached forward and grabbed his head, slamming it against her raised knee. The boys head snapped back and she used this opportunity to kick his exposed throat and knock him to the ground.

Winry marched over to the boy choking for breath and placed her foot against his esophagus; cutting off his air supply. His hand feebly clawed against her leg and his face began to turn blue as she watched in disinterest.

Why had she had so much trouble with him anyway? Obviously he couldn't think strait because he could easily use his shadows to get her off of him but instead chose to lay there and slowly lose oxygen. She tilted her head to the side as his arms began to lose their liveliness and his face turned purple.

_**Winry, that's enough!**_

She ignored him as she severed the connection that time and continued to watch the boy on the ground. Two could play the ignore game.

_**You're going to kill him!**_

_How annoying. _She thought_, He can completely throw me out of his mind, but he can still plow right into mine if I'm not completely focused on blocking him out._

Growling, Winry removed her foot from his throat and instead created a small club; smacking it against his head as he lay curled on the ground; ignoring the squishing sound it make and knocking him unconscious.

Swiftly passing her so-called partner, Winry crept up behind the girl he was facing and broke both of her wrists, causing her to scream out in pain. The crowd shifted uncomfortably but continued to cheer. After all, in a real fight, the enemy wouldn't hesitate to handicap her and cause her pain.

Before Winry could continue, Samnu took the opportunity to use his shadows and slam the girl against the barrier over and over again. Her head finally connected with the shadow wall and she slid to the ground in a heap.

There was a beat of silence before Maddox stood again and his voice carried through the arena and the barrier dropped. "The winners of this round—Winry and Samnu!"

XxX

Edward stood in the stands as he watched Winry and Samnu walk off the field and into the hall as the medics came out to gather the other contestants.

His feeling shocked was putting it lightly.

He was damn near _terrified_.

Winry had practically lost her mind and gone into a rampage for no known reason. One second she was on the ground losing and the next, it seemed as if she was playing a game before and had decided that she was tired of playing and decided to end it.

Edward's jaw was slack and his eyes were still wide as his body refused to move and his mind refused to compute. Winry had almost killed someone.

_Killed_ them.

He wasn't dumb, he could see the men and women on the roof shifting while she had her foot to that boy's throat, but he had just seen another boy killed and they had done nothing. Of course, his death was a quick slice across his throat, not a _foot_ pressed to his _windpipe_.

Edward was extremely worried and guilt flooded his body. He hadn't been there for her ever since her training had gotten more ruthless. Most of the time, she was left alone and he had known that, but he still hadn't gone to her.

He snapped his mouth shut and sat down on the bench behind him as he put his head in his hands. He had to speak to Winry, and soon. But what would he say?  
Either way, he had to ask her what was going on, but the question wasn't really _what_.

But _why?_

XxX

Winry marched into the hallway leading to where she was staying during the tournament and ripped off her hood when her back was suddenly thrown against the wall, knocking the air out of her lungs for a second and causing the bruises on her body to protest loudly.

"What _the hell_ was that out there?" Samnu hissed, his white hair a halo around his face in the dimly lit tunnel.

Winry stared back at him furiously, ignoring the way she was pressed flush with his body between him and the wall. His hands dug into her shoulders as he shook her slightly. His breath was tired and deep as it fanned over her face and his clothes were ripped and bloody, but he was pestering _her_ about what happened out there?

She struggled against his hold, which only made him press more of his body weight on her. "_Answer me_." He growled.

"And why should I? I tried to communicate with you out there, like a team _should_ and what do you do? You _block me out_ _of your mind!" _She whispered vehemently, pushing her hands against his chest and making him retreat back a little.

He blinked at her, "I…"

"You _have no excuse _and you want to come over here and try to tell _me_ that _I've_ done wrong?" Winry shoved him away with a little help from her shadows in her palms and continued walking to her room. If she was right, it wasn't very far…

A hand grabbed her wrist and spun her around to face Samnu once again. He stared down at her intently and when she made no move to go, he put her hand on his chest over his heart.

"Do you feel that, Winry?" He asked quietly, his eyes never meeting hers but staying on the ground between them.

She stayed quiet and continued to feel the steady rhythm of his heart under her palm as she waited for his explanation.

His eyes flicked up to hers and she was startled by the intensity of his stare. "Whether you choose to believe it or not, I am partially human. Yes, I am an angel and yes, I am a demon. But I have feelings and attachments just like you. After all, isn't that what all humans are? A little bit evil but a little bit pure?"

He licked his lips and dropped her hand, putting his back in his pockets and looking away from her and down the hallway, "What I'm trying to say is, like it or not, I care what happens to you. I block you out of my mind because I don't want you to see what I have seen and what I have done." He ran a hand through his blood matted hair and sighed, "But if you insist on knowing you selfish person, I'll show you. Just…let me show you a little at a time so I can explain, alright?"

He turned his gaze on her and raised his eyebrows in question.

Winry was overjoyed that she now knew that it wasn't that she was weak or couldn't connect with someone, but that he was consciously keeping her out. It made her sad, but mostly curious about his past and she practically bounced over to him in excitement and hugged him earnestly.

"Of course! We'll work on one memory a day." She pulled back a little and ignored the fact that his hands were in the air out at his sides trying not to touch her and smiled a genuine tired smile at him.

Samnu nodded and patted her head awkwardly, "Alright, alright sunshine. Go to bed, you're tired. We have another match tomorrow."

Winry nodded and yawned, causing him to chuckle and push her towards her room that was only a few steps away. She raised her hand in a lazy wave as she turned the knob to her door and said goodnight, watching as he opened the door to his own room and stepped inside.

Her room wasn't much but contained a small window across from the foot of the queen sized bed and short dresser pressed against the opposite end of the wall. Winry slipped off her boots and untied her armor from her chest, letting that drop to the ground as well and dug around in her drawers to find an oversized T-shirt to wear to sleep in.

Sitting on the edge of her bed in her large T-shirt that hit the tops of her knees, she undid her hair and massaged her scalp. She wanted to shower, but she'd taken one that morning and was in desperate need of sleep.

Winry flopped down on top of the sheets on her bed and closed her eyes as she began to relax when a soft knock was heard at her door. Her eyes flicked open and she sighed quietly as she got to her feet and navigated her way to her door by the moonlight pouring in from her window.

She cracked the door open slightly and peered through, but couldn't make out who it was through the curtain of darkness. Winry opened her mouth to ask when a very familiar voice rang through her room.

"Winry. Can I talk to you please?"

After a second of hesitaion, Winry opened her door further and he slipped inside. Closing the door behind her, she turned and pressed her back against it, staring at the boy expectantly. When he made no move to speak, Winry sighed. "What do you need, Edward?"

He looked at her bathed in the light shining from her window enunciating her beauty and had to physically hold himself in place to not just show her what he was feeling instead of telling her.

"Winry…I…" He swallowed and looked away from her. Seeing her in nothing but a T-shirt was _not_ helping his situation. He could see her long pale legs…

_Okay, focus Edward Elric! _He chastised himself, slapping himself internally.

Shaking himself, he stared at her intently and took a step towards her, "I'm sorry."

A look of puzzlement crossed her face and he continued, "I was an ass to criticize you on something I have little to no knowledge on and to ignore you and treat you so harshly. You were alone and needed me and I just threw you aside." He paused and lowered his voice. "You don't deserve that."

Winry swallowed thickly, "Edward—"

He held a hand up to her, "Wait. I'm not done." Putting his hand back at his side, he continued, "Samnu isn't…as bad…as I thought."

Her eyes widened even further, but she made no response.

"He's still a bastard and I hate him, but if you trust him, then that's enough for me. And I just hope that he doesn't come between us." He finished quietly, looking down at the floor.

Winry stood awestruck as she examined the boy in front of her. He looked tired, and his white T-shirt was slightly wrinkled, which matched his faded jeans with scattered holes marring them. His head was down and his hands were stiff at his sides. For the first time since he'd come here, Edward looked…vulnerable.

The blonde girl tossed away her shyness about her appearance and approached the boy, halting a few inches away and twisting her fingers in the ends of her hair nervously. She waited until his gaze met hers and reached out to touch his cheek.

"Ed, don't you know by now that nothing can come between us?" She smiled, "Yes you were a jerk and yes you should have talked to me about things before jumping to conclusions, but I wasn't completely blameless either. All that matters now is that we got through it. You're stuck with me, like it or not."

His golden eyes bore into hers as he turned his face into her hand and gently brushed his lips against her palm, making her shiver slightly. Her hand snaked around his neck as he pulled her body tight against his chest and bent his head to place a sweet kiss on her lips.

Winry dug both hands into his golden hair and stepped up to her tip toes to deepen the kiss, the sudden movement causing Edward to lose his balance and fall back onto the bed. A giggle erupted from Winry's mouth as she lay on top of him when she caught sight of his wide eyes and shocked expression. His hands hovered above her back in confusion and Winry decided to take the initiative.

Smiling slightly, the blonde girl bent and barely grazed her lips over his, pulling away when he tried to press his lips harder against her own. Growling in annoyance, Edward swiftly flipped the girl over and smirked down at her puzzled eyes.

She was so beautiful. Her hair was splayed over the white sheets and the only light in the room poured over her pale skin and innocent blue eyes, making them glow. Edward's eyes fell to her lips and stooped down to capture them with his own, his need to have her close to him causing him to press his entire body against her.

Winry gasped into his mouth when his tongue slipped through her lips and her hands left his hair to slide under his shirt and press against the defined muscles on his back. Edward groaned as her nails slid down his back and he pressed his lips harder against hers; she was sure they would be bruised and puffy in the morning, but she didn't care.

They broke away for a second to catch their breath and Winry took the opportunity to slip Edward's shirt over his head, a blush burning at her cheeks when her eyes traced over the muscles hidden underneath. At the hunger in her gaze, Edward could feel his heart beat even faster and dove down, pressing kisses down her jaw until he met with her neck, sucking gently on the skin there.

Winry bit her lip to keep her moan at bay, but her breath began more ragged as she spread her hands over his back and let out a pleasurable sigh. Edward's mouth left her neck and traveled back to her mouth and his tongue slipped back in as his hand tentatively dragged up her thigh and touched the bottom hem of her shirt.

She hummed into his mouth urging him to continue and his hand slid under her shirt and spread over her belly, exploring the soft skin there. The movement caused her shirt to be hiked up and her skin rubbed against his exposed chest. Winry wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him even tighter against her and she gasped when his fingers grazed the exposed flesh above her bra, both of them panting heavily.

His hand snaked around her back and fumbled with the clip of her bra and Winry arched up to help him when a voice interrupted her thoughts.

_**OH FOR GOD'S SAKE. CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS OR STOP. **_

Winry froze, her eyes wide as she stared at the ceiling. Edward halted as well, removing his hands and propping himself above her as he looked at her with concerned eyes and asking her if he'd done something wrong. Winry shook her head and covered her face in embarrassment.

_**Why don't you get out of my head?! **_She squeaked back mentally.

_**That's kind of hard to do when you're practically screaming your thoughts at me! I think I'm going to be sick…**_

"Winry?" Edward's husky voice rasped above her as he pried her hands away from her face while he lay propped on his elbows above her. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Winry looked up to him, distraught as she explained what happened. When she was done, she watched as Edward dropped his head in the crook of her neck and his body began to shake in laughter.

She couldn't help but giggle quietly as well, "It's not funny! It's _mortifying_!"

He lifted his head and pressed a soft kiss on her lips, "Well now he knows you're mine and to keep his hands away from you."

The possessiveness in his voice made her shiver in happiness. Edward smirked and turned to lay on his back and she curled against him as she lay her head against his bare chest, closing her eyes and splaying her hand over his chest. Edward wrapped a hand around her small waist and tugged her closer, pressing a kiss into her hair.

XxX

Winry sat at the table in the dining area for her team which included Gray, Everett and Samnu while she ate her breakfast, preparing for the thirty minute training before the next round of the tournament. Edwards had snuck out of her window that morning, it being against the rules to have him there anytime during the day or night.

Her teachers sat opposite her and Samnu at the large wooden table, planning what they were going to focus on for their training. Winry almost finished scarfing down her food when Samnu turned to her and smirked.

_No! I was focusing so hard on keeping him out of my mind! _She thought frantically.

"So how did you sleep last night, Winry?" He asked mockingly.

Winry glared at him from the corner of her eye and continued to shove food in her mouth. Only a few more bites…

Samnu continued like she hadn't just completely ignored him. "Ah, young love. 'Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds or bends with the remover to remove." He paused, smacking his hand on the table, "'O no! It is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken—!"

"_Shut up, Samnu." _She growled, her cheeks burning furiously as she stood and tossed her plates in the sink. Marching through the door, Winry made her way to the training are and began to warm up.

Gray and Everett looked at Samnu with raised eyebrows as the white haired boy continued to eat at a leisurely pace. He glanced up at them and shrugged.

"What can I say? Usually I'm a very easy-going person. Try me on any day that doesn't end in –y."

**X**

**x**

**X**

**Poor Winry **

**ANYWAY! What do you guys think of the tournament? I probably won't describe every round like this one, but I'll give quick overviews! **

**A little EdWin action anyone? **

**Thank you SO MUCH for reviewing Potato-Chan ( I LOVE YOUR REVIEW. I was smiling the entire time I read it. Keep them coming :D), jaclynkaileigh, Shirraz78, anissa. kent, Hinata-Chan33, Kin-Sung, and otakgirlyy ( Edo feels better now ;)). You guys are THE BEST. **

**To everyone who favorite or story alerted, thank you for reading as well, I raise my glass to you. *whispers* but leave me a review too, please! :D **

**As you may or may not know, I posted another story. It's a Fairy Tail ff and if your interested, please go read it! **

**Review! **


	17. Chapter 17: Alone

**Disclaimer: Nay to the owning of thee Fullmetal Alchemist, alas.**

**Chapter 17: Alone**

Blood and gore and bruises and nightmares.

That pretty much summed up Winry's days during the tournament. She and Samnu had advanced through the rounds and they now stood at the top of the leader board with the team she'd seen kill that boy the first day of the tournament.

Winry was sure that she had shed more blood than she ever thought possible. Though she only had light scars marring her arms and torso, she would have had more if Cynthia and the others hadn't patched up her skin right after the matches with their shadows.

The blonde scrubbed her fingerless gloved hands over her eyes tiredly as she sat on her twin sized bed for the last time. She would either win or die, she decided. Winry knew that this next team had no mercy. They had killed at least one of their opponents in each match and she knew that they would try to kill her and Samnu as well.

She also knew that if she had to, she would kill them before they got the chance.

Thankfully, she didn't really have to worry about her white haired companion since he healed at an alarming rate because of the demon and angel blood running through his veins. Every match left him virtually unscathed, leaving him to fret about _her_ well-being before his own.

Thinking about her partner made her shudder and wrap her arms around herself tightly. During her insomniac nights lying awake with worry, Winry found out that if she waited until he the white haired boy went into a deep sleep, she could read his mind like he could do to her at the drop of a hat. This meant that she could also see his dreams.

Oh, how she wished she hadn't seen his dreams.

Or nightmares, she should say.

The blonde girl was horrified to see some of the things done to Samnu while imprisoned in his own personal hell. The blood, the darkness, the constant reminder of his mother's death. She could feel his every emotion and suffered right alongside him.

The next morning however, Samnu was still himself. Still the sarcastic, conceited ass she was used to. And that blew her away.

Somehow, she kept her thoughts and her prying to herself, though he did ask her why she was being so quiet. In her mind or out loud she wasn't sure, but she just shrugged and continued to train with him day after day. After a while, it got easier to block him out when she wanted to. Winry knew that she was growing stronger every second she honed in on her skills. And by the way Everett and Gray looked at her when they thought she couldn't see, it was at an alarming rate too.

But she wasn't worried; it had only been around three weeks since the tournament started and it was a given that she would get stronger.

Winry stood from her hunched position on the bed and peered out of her small cinderblock window she had in her room. She would be so glad to be done with this tournament. All she could think about was going on missions for her village and protecting the people she loved.

Her mind's eye was instantly filled with Edward.

They hadn't spoken much lately; after he had snuck into her room the third time, Gray had caught him and had amped up security on her student. Everett made some snide comment while snickering over the red heads shoulder about this being no time to get pregnant.

It took all her self-control not to punch him in the throat at that moment.

Winry smiled at the memory and tied her hair back into the ponytail she wore to fight and adjusted her warrior gear. Since wearing it the first time, it had gained almost as many battle scars as herself, but the clothing was much more flexible and the blonde gearhead was glad that she had broken it in so well.

"Knock knock," Samnu drawled as he leaned on her doorframe in disinterest, rapping his fist in the air. "So sorry to interrupt your daydreaming your highness, but it's time to go."

Winry turned and glared at him half-heartedly. "No need to apologize," She said breezily, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she began to move toward him, "I could hear you stomping over here from the second you left your room."

She grinned at his crestfallen face as she slipped through the doorway past him, "I don't recommend you trying to be sneaky anytime soon. You suck at being quiet."

"Well there goes that dream." He mumbled sarcastically, following after her leisurely.

In reality, he had scared her to death. Winry could never hear Samnu's approach and she as beginning to wonder if he _floated_ when she wasn't looking. She'd tried multiple times to catch him off-guard but all she never succeeded in doing was looking like a stalker watching him out of her peripherals.

After a few beats of silence as they walked toward the arena, Samnu looked at her out of the corner of his eye, one corner of his mouth turned down slightly and a hint of his wounded pride in his voice.

"You couldn't really hear me, could you?"

XxX

Winry panted and back flipped multiple times to dodge the knives thrown her way, exploding into smaller needles on impact with the ground. The blonde felt the reassuring warmth of her partners back as she landed on her feet facing her opponent, arms crossed in front of her with a dagger in each hand.

The black hood she wore hindered her vision, but she could feel Samnu's ragged breathing and that worried her. He didn't _get_ winded. Not when she sparred with him, not when he fought Everett and never when they'd fought anyone else in the tournament.

Mind you, it wasn't the sporadic gasps of breath Winry had, but him being even slightly out of breath definitely spelled bad news for both of them.

_**We've been at this for about an hour now. We need to finish them off, but if we're constantly on defense, we won't win. **_

Winry frowned at her partner's words, blocking a few needles tossed her way carelessly as she felt him move behind her.

_**How do we get on the offensive then? One of us will end up hurt or dead. You can't just—oh damnit! Stop, what the hell do you think you're doing?!**_

The girl gnashed her teeth in anger as Samnu twisted and grabbed her under her arms, tossing her in the direction of his opponent as the white haired blur that was her partner sprinted behind the hooded boy. Unlike the last matches they'd had, this pair was not a boy and a girl, but two boys. Apparently, they'd grown up together in the academy and had been training under the same murderous teacher since they were toddlers.

Winry had instantly pinned their agression on them both being boys and having an excess amount of testosterone that they didn't know what to do with and little man syndrome that they couldn't quite cope with. Her childish remark to Samnu been taken as an argument equivalent to 'girls are better than boys na-na-na-boo-boo' and had earned her an eye-roll from her partner.

Stretching her arms out and leaning forward, Winry pushed off the arena's floor and flipped over, connecting the sole of her boots with the boy's face at the same time that Samnu's shadow fisted hand collided with his lower back. The move had been taught to them by their teachers and was a dirty move, but extremely effective in paralyzing their opponent.

Hearing the snap of the boy's backbone as it slid out of place, Winry grimaced but shook it off; she couldn't afford to lose focus now.

He howled in pain as he writhed on the ground awkwardly on his side, his deformed back preventing him from lying down entirely. The boy's partner let out a snarl of anger, charging Winry and Samnu with apparent fury.

The white haired boy calmly readjusted his gloves as Winry threw attack after attack lazily at the boy to distract their opponent and mess with his mind. Samnu began to walk around the now unconscious form on the ground and scoffed—apparently he had fainted from the pain.

How incredibly pathetic.

Just as he began to gather shadows in his hand to help Winry dispose of the man still sluggishly charging her, a white-hot pain crept up his leg. Grunting in annoyance, he looked down and saw the hand of the supposedly unconscious boy fall away from the hilt of the dagger now pinning Samnu to the ground through his foot.

Using his foot that wasn't gushing blood, Samnu kicked the boy ferociously in the head; halting his miserable excuse for an escape and taking sadistic pleasure in the sound it made. He cursed colorfully as he bent to grasp the handle of the dagger and began to tug on it.

Samnu's crimson blood began oozing impressively and stained the sand beneath him as he frowned in confusion.

The knife wasn't coming out.

He kept pulling and his blood kept flowing but the sword seemed to be infinite. With about a foot of the black metal now pulled through the ground, Samnu looked up and the sound of metal clashing with metal reached his ears.

Winry was engaging in combat with the furious boy, barely dodging his attacks and not making any of hers as she tried to protect her indisposed partner from being hit. The boy swung wildly and didn't use any strategy that she could identify, if any at all. Her breath was even more labored and she didn't know how long she could keep this up without Samnu's assistance.

A glance over her shoulder revealed a very pissed Samnu trying to figure out a way to remove the sword from his foot. Obviously, he wouldn't be very much help to her unless he could find a way to detach himself from the arena floor.

Winry's heart raced in her chest as worry and fear overcame her, earning her a few more cuts to her body. The boy grinned, forming a hammer and slamming it into the ground underneath her feet, causing her to leap into the air and straight into his trap.

Several spears of shadow protruded from her body and she cried out in pain, barely registering Samnu calling her name in terror and worry. The boy appeared above her and pressed his foot into her chest, shoving her down faster into the ground, the impact causing blood to erupt from her mouth.

The boy landed gracefully next to her, clicking his tongue in disappointment and wiping away the blood from his own face. Standing over her, she couldn't read the expression on his face, but she was sure it was disgusted if his voice was anything to go by.

"Well this was an incredibly easy win. Though I must say, breaking my partners back and hanging on as long as you did is impressive." His hooded head moved to look in the direction of Samnu, who was furiously pulling at the sword, cutting his hands in the process of yanking at the blade.

"I wonder, would it make you feel more pain if I hurt your body, or his?"

Winry gasped as she writhed on the ground, furtively grasping at the sand beneath her and made a choking noise as she attempted to speak. The pain coursing through her body was shoved aside as she saw the boy previously standing next to her make his was to her struggling partner. "That's what I thought."

Her vision began to fade in and out of blackness as she held on to the last shred of her life, watching the back of the retreating figure in front of her. Winry tried to get to her feet, but her body would not respond to her and instead lay limp on the ground. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes in frustration, though it wasn't for her own life.

Samnu.

He was going to die and it was all her fault. Her own stupid fault. She should have been stronger, faster, better—but she wasn't. Apparently when it came down to it, she was still a pathetic and weak excuse for a shadow alchemist and she was going to die here.

_I don't think so. _

Winry stiffened and tried to ignore the sounds and pains of her partner radiating through her mind to focus on the new voice that spoke to her.

We _aren't dying here today. I like this body and the strength I have within it. Now, if I lend you the strength you need to defeat this opponent and save your partner, you must do something in return for me, but that will not have to be discussed until later…_

_**Who are you? **_Winry thought back weakly as her eyesight faded and the rushing in her ears increased to an almost unbearable amount.

_Isn't it obvious? Now, you can lay here and let us die along with your Samnu or live. What do you choose? Life or death?_

She knew it was a bad idea. She knew that she was probably getting in over her head. And she also knew that in that moment, the only thing she cared about was Samnu and his safety.

Wordlessly, Winry gave her consent. The slowly bleeding out girl closed her eyes and released the fragile hold on her life to the being inside of her. The feeling felt akin to falling from the highest mountain and knowing that she would never hit the bottom. Her stomach dropped, but a feeling of weightlessness overwhelmed her and before she knew it, she was on her feet and heading towards the man who was about to cut Samnu for the umpteenth time.

Winry's feet tread on a black puddle that caused her footsteps to be completely silent, enabling her to sneak up behind the man. A small smile curled at her lips as she pulled out her last remaining black steel knife.

_Torture or a quick death? Before you answer, consider the things he did to you…and your partner…_The voice hissed in her head.

Winry knew what she _should_ do, and if she were in control of her body and not trapped in her mind, she might have done things differently. However, this was not the case. What she _wanted_ to do was so much worse…

XxX

The crowd watched in almost complete silence as the confusion and terror swept through the balconies.

Winry crouched behind the man, deftly slicing her blade through one of his ankles and severing his Achilles tendon. A ferocious smile stretched across her face and her eyes grew wild with bloodlust as the man screamed in agony.

The girl's body was bloody and there were holes in her torso where the shadows had run through her, causing her body to contort in ways it shouldn't while she played with her opponent. Like a cat with a new mouse as a play toy, Winry danced around the whimpering man dragging cut after cut across his crimson skin.

He fell to the ground in a heap next to her unconscious partner and the people could hear her giggle under her breath as she leisurely approached him; her hands clasped behind her back.

The boy looked up to her in horror. Winry's tilted head gave him a clear view of her glowing eyes. The entirety of the color in her eyes was gone and replaced by black with a ring of glowing red around the perimeter of her iris. At the corners of her eyes, black tendrils of shadow curled on her skin towards her hairline and down her cheeks like veins.

She crouched next to him, her hands hanging over her knees as she played with the knife in front of his face. If his body hadn't been screaming in so much pain, the boy would have tried to crawl away in desperation or flinched away from the girl's demonic presence.

The blonde tilted her head to the side curiously and stared at the quivering man for a few moments; the crowd eerily silent around them.

The boy couldn't take it anymore, "If you're going to kill me, do it!" He screeched.

Inside her mind, Winry flinched. She didn't want to kill him anymore. She had enacted her revenge; that was enough.

So why was her hand pulling off her glove?

_This is what you want, I can feel it. Don't you want to know why that flower died when you touched it those days ago? Since then, you've become more powerful...you can take the like of humans…_

_**No no no! **_Winry cried as her hand twitched towards the boy. With her resistance, it was slowed but would not save the young boys life. Even if she did hold this being back, he would die from the blood loss unless she got him help soon.

Her hand just barely brushed the top of his chest…

"Winry, stop!"

Suddenly a searing pain slashed across her back, causing whatever it was inside of her to panic for a moment and allow Winry back in control. Quickly, she jerked her hand away from the boy and spun towards the choked sound of her partner as he fell to his knees behind her.

Winry slid on her own knees to catch him around the waist before he could face plant in the dirt. With her chest pressed flush with his, they could feel each other's labored breathing and Samnu pulled away slightly from her grip to look at her. Samnu placed his hands on her cheeks and bore his eyes into hers for a few heartbeats before his grey eyes glanced down at her torso and his jaw clenched.

The blonde didn't have time to console him however before Maddox's voice boomed over the speakers that the round was theirs. Winry couldn't have really cared much less. Her vision was becoming spotty once again and it was hard to breathe.

Samnu's worried face was the last thing she saw before medics were pulling her from his grasp from behind and hauling her to the hospital.

XxX

"Winry? Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

The blonde girl dropped her fork and let it clatter to the plate she was eating off of as she turned to the Elric standing nervously next to her bed.

"_Yes _Ed, for the millionth time I'll be fine. I'm safe here! Go report to Mustang if he's been bothering you with letters so much. I'm surprised he even knew where you were since you didn't see him before you left Auntie Pinako."

Edward scratched the back of his head nervously as Winry turned back to her food. No one knew of their true purpose here still and he didn't have the heart to tell her now. Cynthia had guessed it, but her knowledge was slim to none. The truth was, he and Al no longer wanted to turn in the shadow alchemists. Sure, some of them could be assholes (a certain white haired boy's face came to mind), but none of them were evil and the one they were looking for specifically wasn't there.

So the eldest Elric had the thought to send a letter since no word had arrived from Mustang or the state. Yes, he even lied about the letters, but what other excuse could he have made?

He sighed and picked up his duffle from the floor, "Alright. I'll see you when I get back then Winry."

Bending down, he gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead and was about to turn to leave when Winry grabbed his collar and pressed her lips to his. When they pulled away, Winry held him close and touched her forehead to his.

"You better come back this time, Edward. I mean it." She whispered with steely undertone.

Touching his lips to hers once again in a chaste kiss, he smiled and nodded. Edward waved as he stepped into the hallway to meet Alphonse who was saying goodbye to Anne. Winry wondered about the two and watched their interactions until Edward closed the door behind him.

Sighing, Winry flopped back into her pillows and winced. The cut Samnu had given her on her back ached whenever she applied even the slightest pressure to it. When she asked Anne why she or her sister couldn't fix it, they said it could only be healed by the one who inflicted the damage.

The blonde wondered if he had done that on purpose as his own form of punishment for going so far in the match.

The dirty bastard.

Winry was glaring at the wall in front of her thinking extremely rude cuss words at her partner when her doorknob began to turn. The blonde girl kept her narrowed gaze glued to the wall as she crossed her arms.

"Edward I swear to _God_ if that's you checking on me for the thousandth time, I'm going to punch you so hard, your face won't ever be able to recover." She ground out, irritated that she'd been indoors for the past four days when she should be training and trying to figure out what happened to her during the fight.

She hadn't seen her partner at all and Gray and Everett had only come to see her for a few minutes before they had to leave for a confidential mission. No one had asked her about what happened or why she was still alive and Winry was itching for answers but wanted to find them on her own. Purposely keeping Samnu out of her mind made her uneasy, but it was necessary to keep him out of any danger she might put him in with her knowledge.

"I'm offended that you mistake me for that incompetent flea." Came a disgruntled voice from the doorway beside her.

Winry rolled her eyes and allowed a small smirk to curl over her lips, refusing to turn her head. She waited a few seconds, obstinately holding her gaze in front of her before thumping could be heard at her door. With a narrowed look, the blonde girl turned her head and inspected her partner who was currently wrestling with the door and mumbling under his breath something about his IV getting stuck in every god damn place he went.

Samnu had bandages covering his body and his pale skin was bruised everywhere she could see it. In his black sweats and white T shirt, she could see the angry red marks that marred his chest that used to be cuts across his skin. She knew that she didn't look much better, but seeing the purple bags under his eyes and his attachment to an IV on the inside of his pale arm made her heart drop in shame. Winry let her eyes fall away from his body for a second to gain her bearings before he could untangle himself from the door hinges and see her emotions etched on her face.

"Wow, you look like shit."

Her eyes instantly snapped up, coming face to very well defined abs instantly. Scowling to hide her embarrassment and guilt, Winry glared up at him. "You don't look much better you know."

His grey eyes became widened slightly with shock and offence as he gripped his chest mockingly with his hand, "I don't know what you're talking about. My nurses made it exceptionally clear to me how astonishingly handsome I am."

"Speaking of," Winry began, ignoring his conceited statement and glancing around him to the closed hospital door, "Are you supposed to be walking around at all—or, better yet, _alone_—like this?"

"They told me I could go." He said and gestured for her to scoot over so he could sit down. Winry glared holes into his back for a couple of seconds as he perched on the side of her bed and the girl cuffed him gently against the back of his head.

"You snuck out, didn't you?"

He turned as he rubbed the back of his head and scowled at her lightly, "Figured that one out all on your own, did you?" At her intensified glare, he rolled his eyes and kicked his IV pole around a little with his foot, "I left a clone of me in there, obediently sleeping and doing whatever the nurses tell him to do." He turned to her once again with amusement sparkling in his eyes, "And I mean _anything_."

The blonde snorted and fell back against her pillows, shoving her uneaten trey of food away from her bed along with the removable table it rested on. Her back throbbed, but Winry chose not to say anything for the moment. It was silent for a few minutes and Winry closed her eyes, enjoying the company of a person that didn't feel the need to fill the air with useless words. She could feel his worry radiating off of him, but he chose to not say anything and that troubled her. Maybe he knew something she didn't?

Just as she was beginning to drift into unconsciousness, she felt something tapping insistently on her cheek. She tried swatting it away in her half asleep daze, but the irritating thing kept coming back. With a scowl, she snapped her eyes open and growled wordlessly.

"Whoa. Down, killer." Samnu mumbled, hands raised in surrender, "I need to talk to you about what happened a couple of days ago and there you are falling asleep."

"You wait until I'm almost asleep to have something to say?" She snapped until what he said registered and Winry instantly sobered. She sat up and fingered the thin blanket the nurses had draped over her nervously, awaiting his questions.

Samnu took a deep breath and turned to cross his legs on her bed so he could face her head on. "What happened? It's been bothering me for the past couple of days and then you blocked me out of your mind so I couldn't even speak to you to see if you were okay. What's going on? Why aren't you dead?"

"I…" Winry began, swallowing thickly. She couldn't tell him. She couldn't tell anyone. This was something she had to figure out on her own. But then again, he was her Hozei Senshi, her bonded warrior. She could tell him anything…

"I don't know." But not this, she decided. This was her problem and Samnu didn't need anything else to worry about with her. She wasn't weak anymore; _she_ could protect the ones _she_ loved now, not the other way around.

For some reason, this thought didn't give her the satisfaction she thought it would.

"I blocked you out of my mind because I wanted to be alone with my thoughts for a while, Samnu."

Winry tried her best to keep her resolve steeled and her poker face on even when his face fell a little and she knew that he figured out she was lying. But that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was keeping him out of danger, and this was the only way.

"And Gray and Everett didn't tell you anything either? Have you tried to read a book or something? Can you explain to me what exactly happened? What about Maddox? Have you tried to talk to him because—"

"_Samnu_!" She interrupted, angry that he thought she was so incompetent as to not think of such things. She wanted to find out what was going on more than he did! "I'm not a child, I already tried all of those brilliant plans and all I got was 'we'll deal with it later, Winry, you're not feeling well right now.'" She seethed, her teeth gritted and all of her pent up anger rushing out so quickly, she couldn't sensor herself.

"And now here you are trying to tell me what to do when I can figure it out myself! I'm not stupid just because I haven't lived here all my life and don't know you're stupid traditions and stupid tattoos and dumb tournaments! I'm sorry I didn't die like I was _supposed_ to, but I'm here and I'm alive with all my stupid glory at being the next warrior for this village and I don't know what's wrong with me! So good God, just _leave me alone!"_

The only sound in the room was her heavy breathing as she glared at Samnu's icy gaze. Slowly, he stood and walked to the door when he turned to face her. He looked just like he did when she first saw him; arrogant and proud, but beneath that she knew it was just a façade to hide his sadness, worry, and anger.

She felt guilty, but her outburst was necessary. She couldn't have Samnu around or coming in and out of her room tonight.

After staring at her without a word for a few breaths, her white haired warrior turned on his heel and left, slamming the door behind him. She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and deflated into her bed for a split second before sitting back up again and kicking off her covers.

Winry let her hand graze over her thigh where her phoenix swirled around her leg and frowned. As soon as they won the tournament, she and Samnu were given their tattoos by Maddox himself while in the hospital. When she first came to, she had to consciously halt its movement so the nurses didn't think she had fraternized with the Seikatsu no Yami when in reality, she had.

Tears came to her eyes, causing her tattoo to turn dark blue and curl its feathers in on itself. Placing her hands on her knees and gripping her head in her hands while her legs dangled off the bed, Winry squeezed her eyes shut and took deep breaths. When she had gotten ahold of herself, she reached over to the inside of her right arm and dragged the IV out of her arm.

Standing, her back rippled with the pain from her injury from Samnu's blade, but she couldn't ask him to heal her now. Winry took a couple of seconds to let the pain recede and then moved to her drawers where she knew Gray had put some of her things before leaving. The blonde yanked on her black warrior's clothes and laced up her broken-in boots. Standing to her full height, she strapped on her weapons and pulled her hair into the ponytail that had become customary for her to wear in battle.

Wiping the remaining tears from her eyes and taking another breath to steel herself, Winry walked over to the window showcasing the deep night outside and pressed her hand against it.

"No moon tonight." She mumbled, glad for that one favor of cloaking her departure.

Sliding the glass pane open silently, Winry hopped onto the sill and glanced over her shoulder. There she was, sleeping in her bed and breathing evenly. Upon closer inspection, she could see the remnants of tear tracks on her cheeks, but figured that would be believable after her anger at Samnu. Silently, she thanked Samnu for the clone trick he'd taught her.

Delaying no more, the blonde leapt out of the window and into the unforgiving night.

Alone.

**X**

**x**

**X**

**Guuuuyyyyysss, I've neglected you so much! I'm so sorry! **

**But I have a legitimate excuse, I swear. **

**First off, I got a job, plus school which = no free time. (I decided to write this and not sleep rather than go to bed early for work :p) **

**BUT MY SACRIFICE WON'T BE IN VAIN, RIGHT? RIGHT? I'M SURE I'LL GETS LOTS OF LOVELY REVIEWS RIGHT!?**

**Oh, look! My plot line is resurfacing! FINALLLY, we're on the road to the end of this story. I know it's sad, but I'm really REALLY happy with the ending I have in mind. **

**PLUS, due to popular demand, I have decided to write a branch off of this story *whispers* but it's going to be WinryxSamnu! **

***waits to see if any EdWin fanatic assassinates me* **

**Keep a look out for it! **

**ANYWAY, I've kept you too long and I'm about to pass out from exhaustion! **

**PLEASE REVIEW, IT FUELS THE FIRE OF CREATIVITY!**


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